Denver's Finest
by BlueSky509
Summary: A collaborative between BlueSky509 and DownintheDeep. A prequel to 'No Sound, Please', this story follows OC pair Jason and Riley, how they met, fell in love, and ended up separated from each other after the downfall of the Denver Quarantine Zone.
1. Military 101

**A/N: Hey, readers! I'm back with another story, this time in a collaboration with an author named DownintheDeep. This a prequel to my other Last of Us story, No Sound, Please. If you haven't read that, I suggest you do before you read this, just so you get to know the characters a little more. This story focuses on Jason and Riley, an OC pair in No Sound, Please. Due to the fact that this is a collaboration between two authors, each chapter will have a slightly different writing style. I will be posting who wrote what chapter, so that you will know who the author is and give them due credit. Anyway, enjoy and please leave a comment with any suggestions, advice, etc.**

**This chapter was written by: DownintheDeep**

It was another regular day in the Denver Quarantine Zone. The kids were stuck inside the Military Boarding School and the military was keeping watch of the premises. Among the kids in the school, there was a boy named Jason who had brown eyes and dark brown hair. Jason had been living in this particular zone for what seemed like a matter of years now, and he had just turned the dreadful age of fourteen. He remembered what the military had told his parents when they had first moved into the zone. That he would have to join the military when he turned fourteen, and that he would have no say in the matter. He didn't know what he was feeling. On one hand, he was honoured that they would want him to be a part of the squad, but on the other, he was afraid. He was afraid of being away from his parents. He was afraid of getting hurt. Most importantly, he was afraid of dying a painful and gruesome death. He stopped in his train of thoughts when an armed man with shaggy black hair and bloodshot eyes walked into the room and approached him.

"Hey kid. You're Jason right?" The man had a really deep voice and he sounded as if he were in quite a rush.

Jason wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't ready to join the military but knew that if he refused to go, he would be in a heap load of trouble. He hesitated before having the nerve to respond.

"...Yeah." He finally said reluctantly. He regretted saying it the moment he did. Unfortunately for him, there was no going back now. He had to deal with becoming a soldier, whether he liked the idea or not.

"Come with me. You're going to be joining the military today." Before Jason could speak another word, the man grabbed his arm and squeezed it tightly while pulling him along with him. They had been walking for a couple of minutes and Jason was beginning to grow quite impatient. It wasn't long before Jason started to question the man's intentions.

"Why are you doing this? Where are you taking me? Why do I have to become a soldier? Am I in trouble or something? Where are my -" Jason was beginning to sound desperate. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. He felt vulnerable in this man's arms and had no idea where he was taking him.

"Jesus, kid. You come with a mute button or something? Because you sure do ask a lot of questions. Well, I guess when you get promoted...we won't have to worry about you talking so much anymore." The man turned around, fearing that he had already said too much. The kid was already starting to ask a lot of questions, and he wasn't helping himself in any way by making Jason more and more curious with the stuff that he said.

Jason wasn't sure what he was talking about. He didn't think that he talked too much. He was just worried about what they were going to do to him. And what did he mean by the last thing he said? That they wouldn't have to worry about him talking so much anymore. Jason was starting to get a little frightened because he had no idea what to expect, but he was also somewhat curious.

"What do you mean?" He asked with one eyebrow raised. He had a gut feeling that the man wasn't going to give him a straight answer, but it was worth a shot. A bunch of thoughts began to run through his mind. _What could possibly make me not want to talk so much anymore? Do I really talk that much? Is being part of the military really that bad of an experience? Did they punish you if you talked too much? Do I really have to go through with this?_ He shook his head, erasing all the thoughts in his mind in the process. He looked back up at the man who had now stopped pressing forward.

The man turned to face Jason and gave him a stern look. He was sick and tired of all of Jason's questions. He was ready to hand Jason off to his leader as soon as possible. Jason immediately realized that the man was starting to get a little irritated with him and decided that it would be best for him to be quiet. At least for the time being.

"Never mind. Forget I asked that." said Jason in a voice filled with fear. He didn't want to cross any lines right now. No, that's the last thing he wanted. He was still thinking about what the man had said, but he figured that it could wait a while. There were more important things to take care of at the moment, anyways.

They continued walking for about ten more minutes. Jason knew the streets of Denver by heart, but he had never come across this part of town. The man unlocked a gate between two warehouses and shoved him through the entrance. The boy didn't recognize the dingy alleyway, and wrinkled his nose at the stench of garbage lying against the walls. They continued walking down the narrow alley, and eventually ended up at a dead end. A run-down, red brick building stood before him. The faded black letters painted above the door read 'Military Headquarters', with the Denver Armed Forces insignia painted beside it. Jason shivered in fear. It was real now. He was going to be a soldier. He stayed frozen, staring at the insignia until he heard the man speak up with his gruff voice.

"Go on inside. Colonel Jones is waiting for you." The man began to walk away, but he halted when he heard the sound of Jason's voice directed towards him. He didn't want to turn around. He just wanted to get rid of the kid. He felt that he had already spent enough time with him and Jason was really starting to get on his last nerves.

"Hey! Aren't you going to come with me?" He asked with a pleading look in his eye. Jason wasn't usually afraid of being by himself, but he felt different this time. He was in an area that he had never seen before. He didn't know anyone in this area. For the first time in a while, he truly felt _alone_. Although, he had only met this man a few minutes ago, he felt that he was the only man that he could trust at the moment.

The man snickered. "I don't think so." There were two simple reasons why the man refused. For one, Jason was really starting to tick him off with his constant questions. But he was also in a rush to get back to the others to help them guard the perimeter. It was his job after all.

"Can I at least know your name?" Jason asked with a blank look on his face. Truthfully, he could have cared less what the man's name was, but he was just trying to make conversation. That and the fact that he was trying to avoid becoming a soldier for as long as he possibly could.

The man did not give him an answer at first. He wasn't exactly sure if he should. But he decided to tell him after a few moments after realizing that he would probably see him again later in the day during his training. "You may refer to me as Major Wright."

"Well Mr. Wright. It was nice meeting -" The man interrupted. He now realized that Jason obviously needed to learn what to call the upper ranks in the military. "That's Major Wright to you son."

"Sorry, Sir. That won't happen again." Jason was officially scared. The last thing he wanted to do was to get on the bad side of a man who seemed like he knew his way around his gun. He would do anything he had to in order to keep himself safe in this shithole of a world. The man gave him another stern look before walking away. While walking away, Jason heard him say one last thing.

"You might want to get in there quick. You don't want to keep Colonel Jones waiting. He's not exactly the kindest of the bunch. I'll see you later Jason. Probably." Jason decided to take the man's advice. He didn't like the man at all. In fact, he thought the man was a straight up asshole. But he was smart enough to understand that Major Wright was just trying to teach him how to become a good soldier.

He opened the door slowly. He peered through the open space and saw a bunch of dirty uniforms hanging on a rack, a rusty table made of wood at the entrance with two chairs in front of it, and a whole bunch of other stuff as well. He couldn't really make out the rest as it was quite dark within the confinement of the room. _Maybe this won't be that bad after all. I mean, how bad could it possibly be?_ He stepped into the building, and was greeted by a strange man holding out his hand. The man appeared to have wavy black hair and bright green eyes. He didn't seem all that intimidating but for some reason, Jason felt that he was quite experienced in his work. _Okay. I stand corrected. _Jason was reluctant to shake his hand but he caved after a few moments, realizing that it would do him no harm.

"Welcome to our headquarters. I am Colonel Jones. You must be Jason, am I correct?"

Jason started to think to himself. _So this must be the famous Colonel Jones that Major Wright was talking about. I thought he was strict. He doesn't seem so bad. In fact, he seems almost...nice._ He came back to reality and nodded his head. "That's right." he stated in a proud manner.

"Well Jason, you seem like a great young man. I had a chat with your father earlier and I think you would be a solid addition to our growing armed forces." Jason wasn't sure how to respond to that. It was kind of creepy to him. He concluded that it was most likely a compliment and addressed the situation the way he felt was appropriate.

"Uh, thanks. I guess..." The man chuckled. He had never met a kid like Jason. One who didn't look terrified. One who wasn't screaming for their parents to help them. No. Jason seemed much more stronger, mentally and physically, than the others, and he thought that it was a great asset for Jason to have.

"Alright. Let's get down to business. Please, take a seat." Jason obliged. The man opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could, he was interrupted by Jason.

"Sorry to interrupt. But do I really have to join the military? I mean, I don't think I would be good at it." he said with a sad tone in his voice. Colonel Jones was discouraged by this remark. He was upset that Jason was not very eager to become a soldier, but he was also frustrated at the fact that Jason interrupted him while he tried to speak. He tried his best to hold his composure. He didn't want Jason to find out how strict he could really be. At least until he signed the documents officially making him a soldier.

"Look kid. I know you may not be eager to go through with this, but we have lost a lot of recruits over the past couple of years and we need to make up for it. And on the contrary, I think you fit in very well with our men. Your body type seems very sturdy and you have quite the build for a boy your age." Jason sighed. He knew there was no way he was getting around this.

"Alright fine. Let's just get this over with." Colonel Jones grabbed the registration papers and handed them to Jason. Jason flipped through the pages and signed each slot that the Colonel had pointed too. It seemed like it was taking hours in Jason's eyes. Page after page, signature after signature, Jason was beginning to grow tired of writing the same signature over and over again. His hand was starting to throb with pain. Once they were done, Jason handed it back to him, trying not to show his pain through his facial expression.

Colonel Jones looked at the documents thoroughly before responding. "Alright Jason. Now that you're officially registered, we need to start teaching you the basics of the military. First things first. Manners. Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking, you understand me boy?" Jason felt both embarrassed and guilty. If he was going to do this, he wanted to be the best solider he could possibly be, and so far, he wasn't setting a very good impression. He also felt somewhat played. It was almost as if the Colonel had become very strict in the blink of an eye. And it had happened right after Jason had signed the papers. Jason was suspicious, but he didn't want to do anything wrong on his first day as a soldier, so he decided to play it cool and let it go. "I apologize Colonel Jones. I'll make sure that it never happens again."

"Good. Now here's your uniform. Head on over to the training grounds in the back. There's a couple of other recruits around your age back there so you'll know if you're in the right place." He handed him a navy blue uniform, a helmet, a pair of military boots, and a semi-auto rifle. Jason stared at the gun as if he had never held a gun in his life. Jason had used a gun in the past, but nothing like this one. His parents would only allow him to use a pistol and nothing more. He heard the sound of the Colonel speaking again and immediately looked back up at him.

"What are you doing? Get moving. We don't have all day. There's a room for you to change right over there. Let's move! Let's move!" He gave Jason a gentle shove to get his feet moving. Jason took the hint and started jogging towards the area that the Colonel had pointed out earlier. It was nothing like he had expected. He walked through a wide, dark hallway and became extremely cautious when he heard the sound of mysterious groans coming from the rooms ahead. At first, he thought that it could have been infected that had snuck into the building, but fortunately for him, it was just the sound of his fellow cadets groaning in pain.

"Oh wait..." _If they look like they're in that much pain...oh boy. I think I'm in for a lot of trouble today. No. I can't think like that. Come on Jason. Snap out of it! You can do it,_ He thought. He made it to an empty room and decided that it was as good of a place as any. It wasn't great. Frankly, it was horrid. But it was the world they lived in. The room smelled awful. There were used rags lying everywhere. In the corner of the room, there was the body of a dead Clicker lying on the ground. While changing, he kept looking over at the Clicker to ensure it was dead. He was a bit paranoid.

Once he had finally finished putting on his uniform, he felt more comfortable than he originally thought he would. The uniform wasn't too tight or too loose on his figure. It fit just right. He laced up his boots and double checked to make sure that his helmet was on sturdy before proceeding to head towards the training grounds like Colonel Jones had asked him to.

When he made it to the training grounds, it wasn't what he expected at all. He noticed a handful of recruits his age lined up beside each other on what looked to be a deserted battleground. He wasn't sure if this was the best idea. But he had to try. He willingly signed the papers, and knew deep down that if he disobeyed the Colonel, he would be in a shitload of trouble. He pressed forward towards the other cadets, and in the corner of his eye, he noticed a man that seemed awfully familiar and a smile grew slowly on his face. It was Major Wright.

"Cadet! Glad you had the courtesy to join us today. Alright we're going to start with basic training. We'll start with the obstacle course. You're going to run over and crawl under those logs that we have set up. Then you're going to scale the 4 meter high walls over there. And lastly, you're going to take your rifles and shoot down those five targets. Are we clear cadets?"

"Yes, Sir!" They all answered in unison as if they had been there for weeks, even though the majority of them had only started that morning.

"Alright. Let's move! Let's move! Go! Go! Go!" The cadets proceeded through the course in an orderly fashion. Jason was the last one in line. All of the cadets had made it through the first obstacle by crawling under the logs, except for Jason. He had gotten stuck under one of the bigger logs and the other cadets noticed this and chuckled before running off. However, one cadet turned back and approached him. It was a girl. She had beautiful, blonde, shoulder-length hair and incredibly blue eyes. He didn't expect anyone to help him, let alone a girl, but he was appreciative nonetheless.

"Hey. Looks like you need some help." She reached her hand out towards Jason. He took her hand and she struggled. But after a couple of seconds, he started to budge and she was able to pull him out from under the log.

"Thanks. I'm glad you helped me out unlike the rest of those dicks over there." said Jason. He was happy that someone was willing to help her. This girl seemed aggressive and surprisingly powerful for her misleading size, but at least she was nice.

"Don't mention it. I'm Riley. Look. We should keep going. Major Wright's giving us a dirty look. We'll talk later." She ran over towards the gray wall that they had to scale which looked dangerously unsteady. Jason decided that she was right and followed close behind her in pursuit. _This is going to be a very long day... _He thought.


	2. Not Welcome

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! This chapter was written by BlueSky509.**

By the time Jason and Riley had finished the rest of the obstacle course, they were exhausted. Sweat made Jason's scratchy uniform cling to his skin, only increasing his discomfort under the hot, Denver sun. The tall buildings that surrounded the small clearing did little to provide any reprieve from the growing heat, as it was almost noon. Jason's arms shook a little as he fired the last shot at the targets set up some fifteen feet away from him, and gave a grunt as the rifle recoiled, adding to the myriad of bruises he was sure were appearing under his uniform by now. The fourteen-year old sighed of relief as Major Wright blew his whistle, signifying them to stop.

"Time's up! Line up, cadets!" The man shouted, standing at the other end of the clearing. He dropped the whistle and his hands automatically resumed their previous position at behind his back at parade rest. The young boys and girls obeyed silently, throwing each other tired and worried looks. They couldn't last through another training exercise.

Major Wright eyed them with a look of disgust, as if they were nothing more than annoying roaches under his feet. "Do you think this is acceptable? Look at yourselves!" Wright yelled, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead in the hot sun. The cadets under his care glanced at each other with looks of confusion. Jason wondered how something so simple as standing could be done wrong. These military people sure were henpeckers, the boy thought as Major Wright strode over to them. His shaggy, unkempt hair stuck to his neck and the sides of his head.

As ungroomed as the adult looked, he was still an intimidating figure as he marched along the line of cadets, fixing their posture with a yank of the arm, a sharp whack behind the shoulders, or a rough shove. The Major came over to Jason, who happened to be last in line. Jason had seen the corrections the man had made to the other teenagers, and tried to stand as correctly as possible.

Eyeing Jason, the man grumbled, "Seems like at least one of you can stand properly." Raising his voice he addressed the rest of the young teenagers, "You must always stand like this when called! Alright, five minute break and then it's back to training!" Jason winced as the man's unbearably loud voice pierced his eardrums. The rest of the cadets broke formation and the boy made to follow, but he felt a strong hand roughly hold him back by the shoulder.

"Not you, Cadet. I need to talk to you." The Major growled as Jason looked up at him in fear. Riley opened her mouth to protest, but the glare from the older man made her think twice. She jogged towards the meager shade by the wall, throwing Jason an anxious look.

"Did I do something wrong? Why are you holding me back?" The boy asked in a small voice. If he had ever felt like a little kid in the presence of someone, it was now.

Major Wright bit back a retort about the kid's lack of ability to shut up. In a measured voice he answered instead, "You speak when spoken to, not before. You have to learn manners, and you need to learn them quickly. That's not what I needed to talk to you about. You're a good shot, Cadet. You have potential."

Jason was taken aback by the compliment. He hadn't even been here one day and already Colonel Jones and Major Wright were praising him? Something seemed fishy. "Uh, thanks. Sir." The boy added, remembering Jones' scolding. The corners of the older man's lips twitched, but it didn't seem like he was holding back a smile. The creases around this man's mouth told Jason that he definitely frowned more than smiled, and looked as if a permanent scowl had been ironed onto his sweaty face.

"You may go. Get out of my sight." Major Wright growled, and Jason nodded hastily as he skittered over to Riley.

The blonde gave him a curious glance as he sat down beside her. "What did Wright want?" She queried, noticing the look of fear on her new friend's face. Her hair clung to her skin under her helmet, making her seem sweatier than she actually was. The obstacle course had tired her out, but she still looked like she had more energy than most of the other dead-looking cadets.

Jason furrowed his brow. "He said I'm a good shot, that I have potential." He repeated the adult's words. "It was weird." He added as an afterthought, making Riley giggle. Her laugh was infectious, and he chuckled along with her. The girl seemed so open, so bright. Jason cracked a smile.

"Who knows? Maybe you might become a General by the time you're eighteen? That is, if you haven't died by then." Riley said jokingly, giving her friend a nudge. She fell quiet for a moment, and then asked, "Did you just turn fourteen?" Her tone was soft, almost cautious.

The boy beside her nodded. "It's my birthday today, actually."

"Some fucking birthday present." The blonde snorted derisively, and Jason sighed. "My birthday was yesterday, so I'm used to this a little more than you are. What hole did they find you in?" Her tone had gained its usual hint of sarcasm back. Jason knew what the girl was getting at. Most children in the Denver Quarantine Zone were orphans, their parents dead or infected. They kept any orphans at the Denver Military Boarding School, which also functioned as the only school for any kids, whether they had parents or not. The only difference was kids who had parents were allowed to go home to them after school.

"I was in class at the boarding school when they told me to go down to the office. I was picked up by Major Wright, and brought here." When Riley remained silent, Jason took that as an opportunity to continue. He had no idea why he was telling this girl about his life, but she just seemed like the type he could trust. "I live in District Two with my parents. I have no siblings. What about you?" He asked, and didn't miss the slight wince on Riley's face when he said 'my parents'.

The blonde hesitated before opening her mouth to say, "I moved here today, but I have no parents. At least, not anymore." The second part was quieter, and Jason had to strain his ears to hear it.

"I'm sorry. It must have been hard for you." The boy said, placing a comforting hand on Riley's shoulder. That explained why he hadn't seen the girl at school before. She was about to reply, but the sharp screech of a whistle cut her off. Jason removed his hand from the girl's shoulder and they both fell back in line.

"Cadets, I hope you rested up because now we'll be going for a nice, long jog!" The man's voice dripped with fake enthusiasm, and Jason wanted to punch the condescending smirk off the man's face. It seemed like he enjoyed torturing children. The cadets groaned in unison, and the small smile was wiped off the Major's countenance. "That's 'Sir, yes, Sir!'" He yelled, and the young teenagers echoed his words. Satisfied, the man led them through the tiny compound and up through the alley, where they saw another man dressed in a plain green t-shirt and camouflage pants waiting for them. He had the same hat as Major Wright, and not a helmet.

Major Wright saluted the man, who returned the gesture. He had silver, cropped hair around his ears, and the rest of his buzz cut was brown. The man's green eyes were perpetually narrowed, like he spent too much time looking at the sun, or through a scope. He was a bit on the skinny side for a soldier, but made up for it with the constant death glare he had on his face, like he hated the world and everything in it. It wasn't hard to hate this post-apocalyptic world.

"My name is Major Rowland. You will do as I say, and if anyone disobeys they will suffer the consequences." His baritone voice was a bit raspy, like he had recently suffered a cold. There appeared to be nothing wrong with the man at first glance, however. Rowland eyed the cadets with something akin to disdain, just like Wright. The black tattoo on the man's upper left arm caught Jason's eye. He couldn't make out the words on it, but the inscription was bordered by two snakes poised to strike. Jason was grateful he wasn't shouting. As the brown-haired man gazed over the cadets, he raised his head and Jason noticed he had a jagged scar running across his throat. The boy made a slight grimace.

"Something you want to share with us, Cadet?" Major Wright asked in a voice loud enough for everyone else to hear, noticing Jason's look of slight disgust. The man was staring right at him.

Jason hastily shook his head, his embarrassment at being called out showing on his now pink cheeks. "No, Sir." He stated simply, averting Wright's scrutinizing glare.

"I thought so." The black-haired man remarked, and there seemed to be a note of warning in his tone. This struck the boy as odd, but he kept his mouth shut. "We will be making a loop around District Three, and then coming back here! If anyone falls out of step, they will be reprimanded! Let's go, let's move!" He shouted, taking his place at the back of the line.

Jason began wondering about Rowland's tattoo, but then he was jolted out of his thoughts by someone shouting, and it wasn't Major Wright. Despite his raspy voice, Major Rowland shouted even louder than his cohort, if that was even possible. The other cadets in front of him started jogging and Jason easily matched their pace. He was a decent runner, but that didn't mean he liked running. He hated it.

After a few kilometers, Jason heard someone start coughing behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that is was Riley. The poor girl looked exhausted and ready to drop, and she began to fall behind. Major Wright wouldn't let her.

"Pick up the pace, Blondie! Don't make me pull out my gun!" The man shouted, and Riley's blue eyes widened in a look of terror. She immediately quickened her pace and fell into step behind Jason. It would have been comical if Jason wasn't ready to drop himself.

In an effort to get his mind off the burning sensation in his lungs and legs, the dark-haired boy studied his surroundings. They were running through some kind of slum, with make-shift tents pitched in alleys that branched off the main street they were on. Dirty, gaunt faces peered out at them from inside the dingy alleyways and backstreets, all with looks of loathing on them. It was no secret everyone hated the military and marshal law, but what choice did anyone have about it? Democracy died a long time ago, and Jason had no idea what it was like before the outbreak.

Jason glanced behind him as he heard Riley inexplicably yelp. He threw her a concerned look and heard a resounding jeer come from an alley to his right. "Fucking little army bitch!" He heard a man yell from the shadows, followed by another hyena-like cackle from the thrower's companions. Major Wright paid the man no attention and neither did Major Rowland.

The dark-haired boy couldn't help but feel that the man who had thrown something at Riley knew her, but he couldn't ask lest he be called out by Wright again. He continued jogging, grinding his teeth together every time he heard Major Rowland yell mercilessly at one of the other cadets. It irked Jason to no end, but he knew he couldn't do anything to stop the man. The other cadets practically jumped out of their skin every time the man with the snake tattoo shouted obscenities at them, and although Jason didn't particularly like any of them except for Riley, he felt a pang of pity for the other kids.

The dozen or so teenagers finally arrived back at the military compound panting and soaked with sweat. It was only lunchtime, and their limbs felt like lead. One fourteen year-old boy with dark blond hair retched his meager breakfast, and Jason felt like throwing up himself as the stench reached his nose. Both Major Rowland and Wright shook their heads in disapproval.

"You have an hour break for lunch and then it's back to bootcamp. Don't try to sneak off; we have guards posted on the rooftops around this place." Rowland warned gruffly as he and his comrade strode off into the building, leaving the cadets in the clearing.

Jason scrunched his brow as the two men disappeared into the dark halls of the red brick building in front of him. "I wasn't told to bring any food…" He said more to himself, and heard Riley chuckle as she unhitched herself from the wall. He hadn't noticed her leaning against it in the shade. The boy gratefully removed his helmet, running a hand through his damp hair.

"They give you food here, but it's disgusting. Trust me, I would rather cook and eat the alley rats around here than put that shit down my throat. You can share my lunch if you want." The blonde offered. Jason noticed that she had a hand pressed against her right upper arm. Red smeared her new uniform, and the fair-skinned girl looked more pale than usual.

"You're hurt." Jason commented, ignoring Riley's shake of her head. He narrowed his eyes at the blonde, glancing repeatedly from her face to her bloody hand.

"I don't need guys treating me like I'm a damsel in distress. I'll be fine." The girl made to turn away from Jason and walk into the compound, but the boy wasn't going to take no for an answer. He laid a hand on her shoulder, and she practically raked her good hand across his face, but made a clear effort to stop herself. Jason backed up with his hands up in surrender.

"Whoa, easy. Let me help, okay? Jeez, you're touchy." The dark-haired boy said loudly in annoyance, drawing the attention of the other cadets around them. "Where do you guys keep a medical kit around here?" He lowered his voice, and Riley sighed in defeat. She reluctantly led him into a building on the right side of the clearing, and he easily matched her quick pace. "You seem to know your way pretty well around here after only a couple of days." Jason commented, glancing every so often inside the rooms that lined this dark hallway. It was much like the other one that he had passed through on his way to the training yard this morning, only instead of empty rooms there were sets of bunk beds inside each one.

"Yeah, well it's not hard to find your way around." Riley spat back, suddenly turning into one of the rooms. Before he entered, Jason caught sight of another, larger room at the end of the hall. The smell of cooking meat wafted from it, and he saw tables neatly lined up inside the room. It reminded him of the tiny cafeteria at the boarding school, only bigger.

Riley shrugged off her uniform jacket, throwing it and her helmet carelessly on one of the bottom bunk beds. She was wearing a simple green tank top underneath. She pulled a little gray backpack from under the bed, and started rummaging around in it. A keychain dangled from one of the zippers: it looked like a bird with its wings stretched outwards, but the head was replaced with three triangles. Jason leaned against the doorframe, examining the room. It was tiny like the rooms at the boarding school, and Jason wondered why the girl just didn't stay there like all the other kids.

He decided to voice his concern. "Why don't you stay at the boarding school? What's the point of having to walk there every morning if you can just sleep there?"

Riley made no indication that she heard the boy as she pulled out a small bottle of rubbing alcohol from her bag, a clean cloth, and a roll of white gauze. As she used the cloth to dab the blood from her skin, which had created ugly, red streaks down her arm, she muttered, "I like it here better. No one steals your stuff like they do at the boarding school. Plus, I hate dealing with those jackasses over there." As the blood got wiped away, Jason noticed the small gash on the girl's arm seemed like a shallow knife wound.

"You don't seem to think I'm a jackass, and I live over there. Okay, not really in the school, more like near it. I live in an apartment building a block over." Jason shrugged, watching the blonde patch herself up. The bare skin of her lean arms gleamed with sweat, and the dim light filtering through the dirty window made her hair shine like a golden halo. _"She's kind of pretty." _Jason commented to himself, inspecting his bitten-down fingernails in the silence that followed.

"That's because I still haven't decided whether or not you are one, dumbass." Riley remarked as if there had never been any pause in conversation between them. The dark-haired boy smirked at her, watching her put away her medical supplies from under his lashes. She caught his stare and made a rude noise at the back of her throat. Jason made a snort and glanced up at the ceiling for a moment instead.

"Did you know that guy?" The boy queried as Riley pulled a sandwich from her backpack. His brown eyes rested on her once more.

The blonde shot him a questioning look as she put her jacket back on. "Who?" She asked innocently, but she knew exactly who he was talking about.

"The guy who threw something at you today, calling you a-" Jason got cut off.

"I have no idea who that was. Here, take half of my sandwich before I change my mind." The blonde said in reply, a little too quickly for Jason's liking. He shrugged it off and took the half-sandwich that the girl offered him. It was ham, but that was it. No mustard, butter, nothing. _"I guess I can't complain…it's better than nothing." _Jason thought as he bit into the sandwich. They ate in silence until they were finished.

"You don't seem to like me very much." Jason commented as he wiped the bread crumbs from his mouth.

Riley picked her head up in surprise, not expecting something so personal. It quickly vanished, being replaced by a mask of indifference. "What makes you say that?" Her voice was measured.

Jason chuckled dryly before replying, "You practically gouged my eyes out back there, and now you're putting on the sarcasm a little thick."

The blonde seemed unprepared for this observation, and took a moment to reply. "You are kind of annoying, and you never seem to shut up. Plus, what do you care if I like you or not? It's not like it matters." She huffed, shoving her backpack under the bed.

The dark-haired boy shrugged. "You're right, it doesn't. Only, people tend to use sarcasm as a cover-up for how vulnerable they feel inside. You did know that man." He answered, gauging Riley's expression. It was blank for the moment, but quickly turned into one that showed irritation.

The girl threw her hands up in exasperation. "Okay, fine. Let's say I did know the guy. What the hell do you care?" Her voice held more anger now than annoyance. Jason could tell the incident had more of an impact on her than she wanted to show.

"I don't care who he was. I just wanted to know why he threw a knife at you. I know people hate the military, especially the Fireflies, but for a mere hoodlum this seems a little extreme. And for it to be directed at you…" The dark-haired boy trailed off, leaving the phrase hanging in the air. The tension in Riley's body and her deadly glare made Jason want to back out of the room to preserve his life, but he stood his ground.

"When people hate everything you stand for, you get used to things being thrown at you. That man just happened to pick me as his target. Happy?" Riley's voice dripped with venom as she roughly shouldered past the boy, pulling on her jacket and picking up her helmet. She strode down the hall at a brisk pace, as if eager to get away from the boy.

Jason sighed, running a hand through his hair again. He still didn't believe the blonde, but he decided that if he wanted to keep both eyes intact, he would have to drop the subject for the time being. He walked back down the hall in Riley's wake.


	3. Trouble Beckons

**A/N: This chapter was written by DownintheDeep.**

After the cadets had their lunch break, they returned to their regular routine of the obstacle course and then the jog under the blazing hot sun. Believe it or not, the more they trained, the stronger and better they were getting. But the higher-up's weren't impressed enough yet to praise them for their measly improvements. The cadets found the training not only tiring, but extremely repetitive and boring as well. However, unfortunately for them, they were in no position to talk back. By the time the day was finally over, the cadets felt completely wiped out. They were repeatedly coughing and they felt as if they had been to hell and back. And this was just the first day. At the sound of the whistle, the squad immediately lined up in front of Major Wright.

He approached them and stared at each of them one by one, dead in the eye, looking for any sign of fear or pain. The major also double checked to make sure that they were standing up correctly in the ways of the military. Once he observed the entire group, he began to speak. "Alright cadets! Listen up! I've been observing all of you, and frankly I'm not very impressed...except of course for one of you. Jason, good job." He looked at Jason and curled his lips the slightest bit upwards, almost as if he were trying to smile. At this moment, the dark-haired boy began to feel proud of himself. Major Wright looked back at the squad and addressed them as a whole. "Now go clean yourselves up! You cadets are an absolute mess!"

The squad began to slowly jog back to the red, brick building, their feet aching with every step they took. The pain that they were feeling was something that they had never felt before. And to make matters worse, they were so sticky that it seemed as if someone stuck their uniform onto their skin with glue. Once they had reached the rooms, they all fell face first onto the beds. Some of them began to cry, others began to throw up. Riley was unfortunately one of the people beginning to vomit.

Thankfully, she had found a bucket on the ground just in time to avoid throwing up on the floor. The last thing she wanted to do was make a place that was already untidy even more so. Jason didn't feel as hurt as the others, but he was still feeling an excruciating amount of pain running through his veins. He had lost sight of his friend when the cadets were dismissed from training. He walked through the corridor checking each room carefully. Once he got to the third door on the left, at the corner of his eye, the dark-haired boy noticed his new friend bending over on the ground and became a little concerned. He wasn't exactly sure how to help in this circumstance. Usually, he was the one throwing up, and his parents would guide him through it. But now he was on the other end, and he knew he had to do something. He bent over beside Riley and pulled her blonde hair, which was now shining with sweat, out of the way.

She didn't expect anyone to help. The blonde felt someone tug slightly on her hair and instantly became paranoid. But that paranoia disappeared soon enough at the sight of Jason when she finally lifted her head. She wasn't exactly thrilled that he was trying to help her, but at least he wasn't trying to hurt her. At least he was trying to be nice to her, unlike some _other_ people in her life. She lifted her head back up when she realized she was done throwing up and looked at the young boy.

"You didn't have to do that, you know. I would have been fine. And just for the record, I don't exactly like it when people put their hands on me. Especially someone I just met..." The last words that came out of Riley's mouth were a little hurtful. Perhaps she wasn't as kind and caring as she looked. But he still knew that she was a good person deep down. He just needed some time to get used to her, and the same went for her. It was true. They didn't really know each other all that well. But during the time that they spent together so far, they seemed to tolerate each other, and in this world, sometimes that was enough.

"Sorry. I didn't know you felt that way. I was just trying to help." Jason apologized. Riley took his words into consideration. She came to the conclusion that he was right. And frankly, she realized that he didn't have any reason to apologize for. Ever since her so-called "father" began to abuse and neglect her, she had never been the same outgoing girl that she used to be. She shuddered at the thought of calling him her father. Her view on him was that he was anything but a father. What kind of a father beat you to a pulp for no apparent reason? What kind of a father threw sharp, pointy knives at you? What kind of a father kicks you out of his house? At the thought of this, she immediately pictured the conversation they had the previous day in her mind.

_"Get out Riley! I don't ever want to see your goddamned face again! You're a pathetic, disgrace of a daughter." Riley's father yelled, pointing at the door._

_"But Dad -"_ _Riley pleaded, tears stinging her eyes. She never cried. Crying was a sign of weakness. _

_"No but's! Leave! Now! And don't dare come back. I could care less about what happens to you. You're the military's problem now." The man growled, forcefully throwing the blonde's backpack at her._

Her mind quickly flashed back to reality. Riley felt the urge to tear up, but knew that wasn't the smartest idea with Jason sitting right there, staring at her. Her father despised her even before she joined the military, and now that she did, his hatred towards her seemed to have grown even more. A father was supposed to love and care for his daughter, she thought. Clearly, her father did not act like a true father by any means.

Riley began to think about what would happen if Jason ever found out about her father. She had told him that she didn't have any parents. It wasn't a _complete_ lie, but it was still a lie. She excused the lie and decided that she would do everything she could to make sure that he never found out. He shouldn't have to feel the need to pity her, and frankly, she didn't want his pity. She also wasn't entirely sure if she could trust him yet. That was another reason for her to keep the matter to herself.

She let out a quiet sigh. "It's alright. You didn't know. I'm glad at least someone cares about me." She looked down, attempting to avoid eye contact with the dark-haired boy. She felt slightly embarrassed with what she had said.

Jason's face scrunched up and formed a confused look. "What's that supposed to mean?" He didn't know much about this girl, but the more he talked to her, the more interested he was in learning more about her. It was weird. He never felt intrigued about someone like this before.

"Forget about it. I think I'm just going to change out of this tacky uniform and take a nice, long nap." The blonde gave Jason a forced smile, but the dark-haired boy noticed her discomfort at once. He knew that nobody was going to be comfortable sleeping in a shithole such as the confinement that they were in. It was dark and gloomy on the inside. There were blood stains everywhere, most of them old. The sheets were rarely ever cleaned. And that smell. Oh that smell! It was horrendous! He knew he was going to regret it, but he couldn't stop himself when he began to speak.

"Y'know, you can come with me to my -" Jason was cut off by the sound of the heavy boots of the other cadets approaching the room that they were currently in. There were only six or so boys crowding the small entryway, and they all focused on Jason and gave him the dirtiest of looks, as if he had committed some sort of crime.

"Well well well. Look what we have here. Mr. Perfect and little Miss Klutz. I knew you two were hitting it off!" One of the cadets at the front of the pack chuckled gleefully. The cadet had short blond hair, gray eyes, and looked as if he were double Jason's weight. He turned around and playfully punched a fellow cadet in the arm before turning back to face them.

Jason spoke up. Man were these guys getting on his nerves. "Shut the fuck up! There's nothing going on between us. Why can't you guys just stop being dickheads for once in your life?" Riley was surprised to hear the dark-haired boy stand up to them like that, but she shrugged it off knowing that if he didn't say something, she definitely would have.

The blond-haired cadet glared at Jason, his face screwed up in a scowl. "Jason right? Man, you look even scrawnier up close. I have no idea why Major Wright thinks chicken shit like you is better than us. I bet you can't even hold your own in a scrap." The boy's tone was snarky; his gray eyes glittered with a malevolent gleam.

In an instant, Riley broke into their conversation."Why are you picking on him? They said he was good. Let him have his moment!" exclaimed the blonde. She hated these boys' attitudes. They were slowly starting to tick her off as well.

The boy was startled. He hadn't expected her to speak up like that. The gray-eyed boy looked over at Jason and spoke in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know your _girlfriend_ fought your battles for you, chicken wuss."

"She's not my girlfriend, you asshole!" The dark-haired boy snarled. Jason's expression had completely changed. His teeth were clenched to the point of pain, and he was starting to go into an angered state that he had never been in before.

The blond boy ignored the remark and looked back at Riley, frowning. He clearly wasn't impressed. "I'd leave if I were you. If you haven't noticed, you're a girl. No one gives a crap about little girls like you around here, and this is boy stuff." When Riley didn't move he snapped, "Beat it, bitch!"

The blonde girl became infuriated. She hated being put down. Being called names. These boys were _exactly_ like her father. Cruel, aggressive, and downright violent. She was ready to take a swing at the blond cadet but thought otherwise, realizing that she was clearly outnumbered.

The young cadet smirked and shrugged. "Fine. Suit yourself." The blonde girl witnessed him begin to clench his fist into a tight ball. Riley was disgusted. She wanted to help Jason. After all, he did help her earlier, and to be completely honest, he was the only one of the cadets that seemed somewhat decent. But she wasn't sure how she could help. There were too many of them for anyone to take head on.

"What are you -" Jason's question was suddenly cut short as he dropped to the ground at the impact of a right hand hook from the gray-eyed cadet.

"Yeah, Johnny! Get him! " shouted one of the cadets in the far corner, egging the blond boy, now known as Johnny, on.

"Teach him a lesson he'll never forget!" shouted another.

The group of cadets laughed loudly in unison. "How does it feel Jason? Does it hurt?" said the cadet that was causing the pain in a sadistic tone of voice. This was followed by two more blows to the dark-haired boy's gut by way of his foot. Jason had never been in a brawl like this before, so this was a terrifying experience for him, especially considering the fact that they just went through hell for the last couple of hours.

Thoughts were running rapidly through the dark-haired boy's mind during the vicious beating that he was enduring. Jason thought that being the top cadet would be a good thing. Man was he ever wrong. These boys were ruthless bullies. With every hit, he was beginning to hate the other cadets more and more. What was he going to do? On one hand, if he continued to do well, he'll keep getting beat up, but on the other hand, if he purposely did poorly, he would not be praised by Major Wright anymore, which he actually loved. What to do, what to do?

Riley immediately ran over to Jason and shoved the male who was assaulting him. Enough was enough, she thought. She couldn't stand the sight of her companion getting beat up any longer. She was furious and it clearly came out in her tone of voice. "What the hell is your problem, man?! What did he ever do to you?!" She couldn't believe what she was saying. She never stood up for anyone like that before. However, the girl believed that she did owe Jason one for what he did earlier.

The blonde male began to clench his fists in attempts to hit the girl, but another cadet held him back and shook his head from left to right. "She's not worth it. Let's just go." At first, Johnny looked like he wasn't going to let Riley's actions slide. He wasn't exactly the type that let girls push him around. The boy hesitated, but to everyone's surprise, he eventually obliged and the group of cadets left the room, leaving Riley and Jason behind.

The blonde girl ran over to Jason and put a hand on his face, which was now streaked with red. "You're hurt. We need to patch you up." She attempted to step out to the next room and grab the med kit, but he held her back by way of her arm.

Jason attempted to sit up to look strong, for her sake. He didn't want to look weak in front of a pretty girl like Riley. "You don't have to do that. I'll be fine. And to be honest with you, I don't like it when people touch me either." He smiled.

The blonde-haired girl giggled. "Shut up. I'll be back. Stay here."

"Not going anywhere." Jason drawled in reply. Riley ran out to grab the first-aid kit and ran back in. She carefully took the rag and poured some alcohol on it before applying it to Jason's face. It wasn't the heaviest of pains, but it still stung something terrible. Once she was done, she pointed to his stomach and questioned him.

"So how's your gut? That asshole kicked you pretty hard, huh?" The blonde had a worried look on her face. She was worried for this boy whom she barely knew, and she wasn't sure why.

The dark-haired gasped for breath a few times. He was having a little trouble breathing after being kicked in the stomach, but it was nothing that he couldn't manage. "Yeah. But don't worry about me. I should be fine by tomorrow." Riley gave him a reassuring nod to signify that she believed he was right.

"So what was it you were saying earlier? Y'know, before _they_ rudely interrupted us." The girl winked at Jason who smiled back at her.

Jason thought back to earlier in their conversation. "Oh right. I was just thinking that maybe you could stay with me at my apartment tonight. I know you hate it here. Don't you dare lie to me." His tone was half teasing, half serious.

Riley was shocked. She wasn't expecting that at all. It was a tempting offer, but could she really accept it? She hadn't really done anything to deserve it. "I don't know if that's such a good idea..."

"Oh, come on. I want you to. You can even meet my parents." The blonde became a little uncomfortable at the use of the word "parents", but she bit the bullet, and shook it off.

She looked down at her feet before looking back up at the young boy. "Well, I guess one night wouldn't hurt. What's the worst that could happen, right?"

Jason chuckled. "Awesome! Get changed and meet me at the end of the corridor. We'll head out in five minutes." He was excited. He never had a houseguest before. And he was certain that his parents would like a girl such as Riley.

The girl smiled. "Sure thing." Once the door was shut, and the dark-haired boy was on the other side, she began to strip her uniform off her toned body. Boy, was it tough. Every couple of seconds, the uniform would cling to her skin, and she had to tug on it really hard to slide it off, which brought a sudden burst of pain along with it. She had just gotten undressed when she heard the sound of a knock on the door.

"What do you want?" Riley didn't know who it was for sure, but she assumed it to be Jason. She didn't want to say the typical line of "Who is it?", so she decided to be a little rude about it. It was fun for her. It was who she was.

"Geez. I was just checking up on you. You sure do take a long time to get changed." Jason was growing impatient. He had gotten changed in a matter of seconds, whereas Riley seemed to be taking forever.

"Well, I'm a girl. What'd you expect? Not all of us can rip our pants off at a moment's notice, y'know." Riley quipped, throwing on a pair of ripped blue jeans and a green t-shirt. She followed by putting on her favourite black converse shoes.

Jason was silent for a moment. "Was that supposed to be a sex joke?" He finally asked, and the girl rolled her eyes. Through his tone, Riley could almost see the look of confusion on his face. She wouldn't dignify that question with an answer, and slung her gray backpack over her shoulder.

When she stepped out, she didn't see the young boy waiting for her. She called his name. "Jason? Are you there?" Riley felt someone hit her leg gently and glanced down to see Jason sitting next to the door, fiddling with his fingers.

"I'm right here, silly." The boy chuckled before continuing. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah...I guess so." Riley followed Jason down the corridor and out the jagged, wooden door of the main entrance to the Military Headquarters. He guided Riley through the alley and then the gate between the two warehouses that he had passed on his way to the headquarters earlier that day. He didn't look back to check if the blonde was there. Jason didn't feel the need to. He could hear the sound of her light footsteps behind him. Besides, even if she did get into trouble, she could handle herself. For a girl, she was a pretty good soldier, he thought.

Once they had gone through the gate, Riley began to ring up a conversation. "Man, do all places stink like shit nowadays? I mean seriously. Everywhere I go, there's this weird smell." She was still covering her nose to avoid sniffing any of the bad scents that surrounded her.

The dark-haired boy snickered and began to speak in a sarcastic manner. "Ever stop to think that maybe it's not what's around you that smells? Maybe it's just you." He turned around to see the irritated look on her face, and it was exactly what he was expecting. She stopped walking and looked him dead in the face with an angry look in her eye.

"Excuse me?" Riley could tell that he was trying to be sarcastic, but she didn't appreciate it at all. She didn't like being made fun of. No one did. But if anyone was going to make fun of someone else, it would be her.

"Relax Riley. I'm just messing with you. It was a joke." The dark-haired boy didn't think that she would be that affected by it. He constantly thought about what she had been through her entire life. Jason knew nothing about her past. He wanted to find out, but he didn't want to try to pressure her into telling him. He decided to wait until she brought it up.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Well, it wasn't funny. Let's just keep moving. I need some sleep, I'm exhausted." Her legs were beginning to buckle and Jason noticed this, but thankfully for them, they had already reached their destination.

"Alright, we're here. Come on." The dark-haired boy proceeded through the wooden door of the chestnut brown building expecting the girl to follow in pursuit, but that wasn't the case. The blonde girl just stood there, admiring the area. She had never seen a building that looked as good as his did. It was quite remarkable in her eyes. She was so used to seeing places after they were already run-down. She didn't think there was a place like this anywhere. "Something wrong?" Jason queried, cocking his head.

"No. It's just this place. It's not rundown. It almost looks...good." Riley continued to admire the building. She couldn't take her eyes off it. She thought that Jason was lucky to have a place like this. She just wished she had parents who could give her a home like this as well. But obviously, that wasn't going to happen. Not now, not ever.

"Yeah...Well, come inside. We need all the rest we can get for our next day of training." He motioned for her to follow him with his arm.

"Yeah. I guess you're right." The blonde followed in his steps as they walked up three flights of stairs. Jason proceeded towards a door marked 'D3' in dull brass and stopped dead in his tracks. Riley bumped into him and became a little agitated. "Hey! What the fuck man?" She calmed down when she noticed him staring at the door and then back at her. She figured that it was the door to his apartment. "You know, when I envisioned meeting a guy's parents, it would have been as his girlfriend." Riley commented casually, flicking her hair away from her face.

Jason ignored the comment, but the girl swore she saw him blush in the dimness of the corridor. "You ready?" His voice came out a couple notes higher than expected, and the boy cleared his throat once. The blonde wasn't exactly sure how to respond to the question, so she simply nodded. Jason took the golden key out of his pocket and stuck it into the lock. His hand shook a little, but Riley didn't seem to notice. He turned the key slowly and they heard a loud click. The young boy glanced at Riley one last time before twisting the knob counterclockwise and stepping through the doorway, with the blonde close on his heels.


	4. The Lion's Den

**A/N: This chapter was written by BlueSky509. Be sure to leave a comment saying what you liked, didn't like, want to see happen, etc. etc. I know a lot of the people who have read No Sound Please hated Riley, and for good reason, but that doesn't mean she has absolutely no good qualities and can't be dynamic. Anyway, please enjoy!**

As Riley stepped over the threshold of the doorway, she couldn't say Jason lived a life of luxury. He did however seem to live a lot better than the soldiers and students at the boarding school put together. The cramped entryway opened up to a small living room from what Riley could see, with a black, threadbare couch and a chipped wooden dining table. Four matching wooden chairs surrounded the table, which was a rarity. The floor was composed of a dull, brown hardwood, long since lost its original lustre and rich colour. A closet that was set into the wall along the left side of the tiny hallway held nothing but a lone pair of women's boots and a few coats in dire need of patches. The grimy window in the combined living and dining room let weak rays of sunlight to filter through, casting a pale glow around the room. It didn't have any curtains.

"It's not much, but make yourself at home. I can smell Mom cooking something, so I guess dinner will be ready soon." Jason observed as he carelessly kicked off his army boots, shoving them into the closet with his foot. He sidled past Riley and out of sight around the corner, probably heading to the kitchen. An unfamiliar scent wafted from an unseen part of the apartment, making Riley's mouth water. It smelled like chicken, but could easily have been turkey or another type of poultry. The blonde untied her boots and carefully set them beside Jason's overturned pair.

Riley stepped into the living room, and noticed that behind the wall beside the dining table was a small kitchen tucked into the corner of the room. Past the kitchen was another short hallway, this one having two doors set into the right side of the corridor, and one on the left. Curiosity got the better of the girl and she walked past the dining table towards the first door, sneaking a glance into the kitchen as she went. A woman dressed in a blue blouse and long, faded emerald green skirt stood at the stove, frying something on a pan. She had her brunette hair up in an untidy bun and was a little on the thin side. Hell, everyone was. Jason was nowhere to be seen, so Riley decided to introduce herself.

"Uhh…hi. I'm Riley, Jason's friend. Nice to meet you." The blonde said a bit awkwardly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. The brunette woman didn't answer, and Riley became annoyed. She muttered a few unintelligible words under her breath and continued on to the first room on the left side of the hallway. The door was ajar, and she peered through the small opening. All she could see was a wooden desk pushed up against the wall, but she caught the unmistakable, stale scent of smoke. All of a sudden, someone banged the door shut right in her face. Surprised, Riley stumbled backward a few steps, and then bumped into whoever had rudely shut the door. She whipped around, coming face-to-face with Jason, who was leaning against the wall with his palm on the door. He looked just as irritated as she felt.

"Didn't anyone tell you not to go poking around in other people's rooms?" The boy asked, glaring at the blonde. Riley didn't think it was such a big deal, but she understood the privacy portion of the argument.

"Sorry, but that wasn't any reason to almost take my nose off. You could've given me some kind of tour before you ran off, you know." Riley spat in reply, and Jason visibly relaxed as he let out a short puff of air, his temper dying down. "Oh, and I don't think your mom likes me. She just ignores me." The girl continued casually, inspecting her dirty nails as if actually planning to do something with them.

The dark-haired boy gave her a perplexed look. "What? She hasn't even met you yet. You can't form an opinion of someone if you've never met them before. C'mon, I'll introduce you." He gave Riley a half-smile before unhitching himself from the wall and motioning for her to follow. The blonde shrugged and obliged, walking into the kitchen and leaning against the green-painted countertop while Jason conversed with his mother.

Jason tapped his mother's shoulder and she turned her head to look at him, flashing the boy an affectionate smile, but it soon disappeared as she caught sight of the purple bruise on her son's face. She had brown eyes like her son and the same kind features, though her eyes had tiny lines around them. She looked about 40, but could pass for 35. The woman reached up to touch the bruise with a concerned expression, and Jason gently caught her hand. "I'm fine, some guys decided to jump me at training camp. It'll go away in a few days." He explained, dropping his mother's hand. Her mouth formed a thin line and she let out a sigh. The brunette woman caught sight of Riley and arched an eyebrow, throwing a suspicious glance at her son.

"This is my army friend Riley. She's really nice once you get to know her. What do you think?" Jason said, and Riley couldn't help but notice a couple of things about the way the boy spoke to his mother. He seemed to enunciate his words more when he was speaking to the woman, and used hand gestures as he did so. His rate of speech didn't change, though.

The woman smiled and waved to Riley, who waved back. Jason's mother signed something to her son and his eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. Both women giggled at his reaction.

"No, she's not my girlfriend! Why does everyone keep saying that?" Jason replied defensively, and the brunette woman gave him a playful pout. She shrugged, spread her hand in front of her face, and pointed to Riley. The boy briefly glanced at the blonde and she swore she caught a hint of longing in his eyes. "Yeah, I know…" Jason sighed, and he sounded a bit sad.

Riley scratched the back of her head, feeling left out. "Umm…I don't know any sign language, so you'll have to translate for me. Did your mom just insult me?" She queried genuinely, pursing her lips.

Jason chuckled and shook his head. "No, my mom…she thinks you're pretty. Me or my dad will translate for you, don't worry. My mom can't hear, so this is how we communicate. It's like a second language for us." He said and signed something else to his mother. The woman responded by tapping her wrists against each other and nodding. Noticing Riley's look of confusion, Jason clarified, "My dad's still at work, and you have my mom's permission to crash on the couch for as long as you need. I'd get a spot at the boarding school, though. I know it's rough over there, but…things are stretched pretty tight here as it is. Not that you're not welcome here, it's just…you know…" He trailed off, biting his lip.

"Yeah, I get it. I won't overstay my welcome, don't worry." Riley answered as politely as she could. She couldn't help but feel she was still intruding, though.

"Actually, I was going to say that my mom was afraid that we'll start-ow!" The dark-haired boy yelped as his mother ribbed him. She always seemed to know what he was going to say before he said it. That wasn't a surprise, considering the hawk-like focus she had on his mouth as he said things. She shook her head and gave him a warning look.

"Jeez, Mom, I said she was a _friend_. Friends don't do that kind of…stuff with each other. When's dinner going to be ready? We're starving." Jason said as he reached over to the stove and tried to scoop a bit of sauce from a cooling pot. The boy's mother whacked his outstretched hand and he retracted it with a laugh as she shooed both her son and Riley out of the tiny kitchen. She signed something after Jason, and he waved the comment off, directing the blonde out of the kitchen and towards the couch.

As the pair plopped down on the couch, Riley couldn't help but giggle. Jason gave her a look and she explained, "Your mom's funny. She has a good sense of humour. I didn't think adults still had the ability to make dirty jokes."

The boy shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, she acts like a teenager sometimes just to embarrass me. It's really annoying." A moment of silence passed before he spoke again. "So uhh…I've never seen you around the boarding school. I know you lived in the military barracks and all, but you had to have gone to school." His tone was inquisitive, but it was still a touchy subject for Riley nevertheless.

The blonde thought about her answer before she said anything. "I was homeschooled before my parents died, so I didn't have to go to the boarding school. When my parents passed away, they wanted to send me to the boarding school, but then I turned fourteen and they decided I should stay in the barracks and become a soldier." Her answer wasn't a complete lie. If homeschooling could be called needless abuse, then she had been 'homeschooled'. Yesterday her father had given her a form that said he approved of her staying at the boarding school, and that basically gave the authorities permission to do whatever they wanted with her. He hated the military with his whole being, and didn't want anything to do with them, which meant he didn't want anything to do with his daughter. That was fine by her.

"Well, if the one thing the authorities around here are good at, it's recruiting people. They think dying for your city is better than living a good, educated life. It's sickening." Jason spat, furrowing his brow. The ugly purple bruise marred the smooth skin of his left cheek, and Riley noticed that he gave a slight wince as he leaned back against the couch, though he tried hard to hide it. The young boy looked older due to being exhausted, in pain, and in need of a good shower.

Riley sighed and mimicked him, staring through the window on the wall beside her. She could only see the brick wall of the apartment building next door, and that was about it. A thought occurred to her and she pondered aloud to Jason, "When did your mom say dinner was going to be ready?" When he didn't answer she gladly tore her gaze away from the window to find that the boy was fast asleep, his breathing deep and even. He was lying against the back of the couch, head turned toward her. The girl envied his ability to fall asleep so quickly, but a small smile graced her lips, anyway. The lines of strain on his face disappeared when the dark-haired boy slept, making him actually look his age. Riley decided a nap before dinner couldn't hurt, and allowed her head to loll against the back of the couch like her friend. She closed her eyes, but could still hear Jason's mother bustling around in the kitchen, the faint clanking of spoons against pots a comforting sound. Soon her own exhaustion caught up with her and her head lolled to the side, resting on something warmer and softer than the fabric of the couch.

After what felt like a few minutes, but was probably closer to half-an-hour, the blonde felt someone shaking her awake. Groggily wiping the sleep from her eyes and yawning, Riley opened them to find Jason's mother standing over her, a bemused look on her slightly lined face. Wondering what the source of her amusement was, the blonde glanced around and practically yelped in surprise as she came nose-to nose with Jason, who was thankfully still sleeping. Her head must have rested against his shoulder when she had fallen asleep, Riley determined. Flushing, she threw an accusatory glare at the brunette woman, who innocently shrugged and gave her a wink. Riley gently pushed herself away from the dark-haired boy, shaking him awake as she did so.

Jason groaned and opened his eyes, giving a wide yawn and stretching his arms over his head. He winced again as the pain in his midsection flared up, but ignored it. He glanced at Riley who looked for all the world as calm as the surface of an undisturbed lake. "Had a nice nap?" He murmured, cracking his neck.

Riley cringed at the noise, but nodded. It sounded too much like the crunching of bones to her. "I thought you said your dad was coming back from work. What does he do?" She queried, rolling her shoulders to get the stiffness out of them.

The boy opened his mouth to answer, but was stopped when someone came through the door. "Jason? You home yet?" A man's baritone resounded from the entryway, and Riley caught sight of a man with the same lean, yet slightly bulkier frame as Jason, though he didn't seem much taller than the boy. Jason was tall for his age, and lankier than the man in the entryway, which had to be his father. Riley felt a twinge of jealousy; her own father couldn't care less about where she went, as long as he could save the evening beatings for her.

"In the living room, Dad! Mom has dinner ready!" The dark-haired boy called back, getting up from the couch. He went over to the kitchen and conversed with his mother, who followed him out, turning the stove off as she went. Her face lit up at the sight of her husband, who handed a bag of objects wrapped in paper to Jason before pecking his wife on the cheek. He looked older than the brunette woman, but not by much. His hair was already gray and was beginning to bald. The red plaid shirt and jeans he was wearing gave Riley the impression he was a farmer. The man's eyes were kind, something unsettling for Riley. It would take some getting used to for her, since men acted the opposite towards her.

The man threw an inquisitive look at the blonde, and then looked at his son as he came out of the kitchen. His expression held a mixture of pride and something else, though Riley couldn't place what it was. Jason noticed his father's look and answered before the man could ask, "Her name's Riley, and she's _not _my girlfriend. I met her at training camp today and she needs a place to crash for a while." His tone was monotonous, and slightly irritated.

The gray-haired man chuckled and shook his head. "Whatever you say, son. I just hope she doesn't crash in your room." Ignoring Jason's look of disgust and groan of frustration, the older man strode over to Riley and shook her hand. His grip was firm and strong. "I'm Jason's father, but you can call me Shane. I trust Jason introduced you to my wife, Julie. You keep an eye on my boy; he tends to get himself into trouble, and has quite the temper." Shane said jokingly, and Riley nodded with a smile.

Turning to his son, Jason's father demanded excitedly, "Tell me about your first day in the army, son! I can see you got into a scrap, but I bet they weren't much trouble for you, huh?"

"Uh…yeah, they landed a couple of hits, but Riley and I fended the bastards off. It was tiring; they made us work a lot. They said I'm a good shot, though." Jason replied off-handedly, self-consciously touching the bruise on his face with his fingertips.

Shane strode over to his son and clapped him on the back. "That's my boy, learning how to fight already! I remember being in the military and boy were those the worst years of my life! I'm sure you'll stick it out though. So, what's for dinner?" He directed the question at his wife, who scurried back into the kitchen, and came out a few seconds later with a plate of fried chicken breasts with mushroom sauce.

Jason rolled his eyes as he went into the kitchen to get plates and utensils. "Thanks for being so encouraging, Dad. Next thing you know I'll be one of those guys with the snake tattoos and raspy voices." He retorted dryly as he set the plates down. His father shot him a warning look, his previously joking manner dissipating like the steam off the cooked meat.

"Don't joke about the Cobras, son. Sit down and eat your dinner." Shane growled, his demeanor switching like day into night. Jason threw Riley an exasperated look and she giggled in reply. The boy's family was quite the handful, and she found how easily they could get on his nerves amusing. She got up from the couch to sit at the table, grabbing a piece of chicken for herself. It seemed to be mildly spiced, though Riley wasn't sure if that was because of the recipe or lack of spices. She ladled some mushroom sauce on the meat and dug in, smiling at the burst of flavour in her mouth. Jason's mother noticed her expression and smirked in her direction, glad she enjoyed the food.

"So Dad, how was work?" Jason asked, breaking the comfortable silence at the table. His voice held a hint of anticipation, as if he wanted his father to tell him something he had been waiting for.

Shane pursed his lips, probably thinking about the events of the day. Finally he answered, "I brought back some pork ribs that your mother can cook for tomorrow's dinner. Otherwise, it was same old, same old. I worked in the barn all day today."

Jason's shoulders dropped in disappointment. "You mean Sandy didn't-?" He asked, but was cut off by his father.

"Actually, Sandy was the reason I worked in the barn today. She gave birth to a beautiful black overo filly at around lunchtime. She still needs a name." Jason's father smiled, and his son's face lit up. He adored horses.

"Can we go see after dinner? Riley, you can come, too." The dark-haired boy was practically shaking with excitement as he gulfed down the rest of his dinner. The blonde wasn't much of a horse person, but she had nothing else to do. After dinner was finished and the plates cleared away, the trio headed out of the apartment. Julie stayed behind, preferring to hold down the fort.

Despite being exhausted from the day's drills and runs, Jason was bursting with energy as he, Riley, and Shane walked down the street. The young boy was acting like a girl who had gotten her first pony, and Riley couldn't help but smile bemusedly at his behaviour. Shane explained on the way to the barn that he was a butcher, but also looked after the animals that the city didn't eat: the horses that were used for transportation outside the city, the dairy cows, and the chickens that laid eggs. The barn itself wasn't much more than an old warehouse fitted with low, makeshift walls for stalls and straw to cover the concrete floor. Riley wrinkled her nose at the smell of animals, manure, and straw, but said nothing.

Jason bounded over to a stall with a chestnut tobiano mare standing inside. The foal that Shane had described was nursing, oblivious to its visitor. The mare Sandy, however, was very aware of the boy and pinned her ears back, protective of her filly. When the foal had finally had enough, it turned around to look at Jason with big, brown eyes. She gave an inquisitive snort and wobbled over to him. The dark-haired boy beamed at the foal and gazed at her as if he were gazing at his own toddler. He stroked the filly's smooth muzzle and she nibbled his hand curiously.

"Hey there, little girl. What are we going to call you, huh?" Jason murmured, more to himself than the foal. The filly pricked her ears as Shane and Riley came up to the stall. She skittered away from all the commotion and hid behind her mother's legs, swishing her short tail.

"Aww, she's shy!" Riley cooed, abandoning her previous disgust at the smell of the barn. "She thought for a moment and then commented, "She looks like a cross between a penguin and a horse. How about Aurora?" People found the aurora borealis up north, didn't they?

Jason stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe, maybe. Dad?" He asked, turning to his father to get his opinion. Shane stared critically at the filly, analyzing the way she moved and her build.

"She would have been a good little jumper back in the day. Flying over 6' jumps, this one would have been. What about Faerie? She seems to have a little sparkle to her, don't you think?" Shane observed, watching the foal buck and nip its mother in the tiny space. Sandy ignored her filly, munching on hay instead.

"Naw, she looks feistier than a placid little faerie. Pixies are pretty feisty, what if we named her Pixie?" The dark-haired boy offered, and Shane pursed his lips, nodding in approval.

"I don't know where you learned the difference between pixies and faeries, but I like it. Not too long, and seems to suit her. Pixie it is. Now let's go home and get Riley's bed ready, it's late." Jason's father said, and Riley breathed a silent sigh of relief. She was glad to get out of the stinking place. Holstein cows lowed at them as they passed, and pigs lay lazily in their stalls, ignoring the newcomers. The trio walked the few blocks back to the apartment building as the sun set behind them, and Jason seemed to be in a hurry to get back. He pulled Riley aside as they came to the apartment door, and Shane gave them a suspicious look, but said nothing as he went inside.

"You two can go up to the roof, but don't stay too long. Your mother will start to worry." Shane said, as if reading Jason's mind. The boy nodded and jogged to the end of the hall, expecting Riley to follow him. She smirked and obliged, and the pair went up the dark, dank stairwell another seven levels, and finally arrived at the tenth and final floor. Jason heaved the door open and the pair was instantly bathed in an orange glow from the setting sun.

Jason was hardly panting, but Riley had to rest her hands on her thighs and gasp for breath. "No wonder…you're so good…at running. You do these stairs a lot, don't you?" The blonde assumed between gulps of air. The boy shrugged modestly and sat down in front of a ventilation pipe bulging out of the roof. He patted the spot beside him and Riley gladly sat down. They gazed out over the rooftops of the buildings of Denver, the people still walking the street below like little ants milling about. Metal sheets on roofs below glinted in the fading sunlight, bricks glowed orange and red in the light, and the wall surrounding the city was as impenetrable and far away as ever. The giant floodlights that were turned on at night stood like huge, tall sentries at equal intervals along the wall. Beyond that the sun cast long shadows behind the crumbling, dilapidated buildings that weren't part of the Quarantine Zone. The roar of military vehicles sounded far off up here, and Riley could hear people shouting to each other across the street, as well as dogs baying.

Jason never wanted to venture outside the safety of the wall, because he knew that Infected would eat him alive or all the stories of cannibals and hostiles would be his waking nightmare. Still, he wanted to know what was beyond the city limits one day. He stared longingly at the wall that marked the city limit, imagining what was beyond it.

"It's really beautiful up here, isn't it? I can see why you come here. Denver never looked so…peaceful. I never thought it could look like this from a different viewpoint." The blonde commented, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

The dark-haired boy made a noise of agreement, his gaze distant as he watched the sun go down. After another short silence he mumbled, "I've never really brought anyone else up here. Even my parents don't really have time to come up here, and plus they don't really want to. Old people are so slow. It feels good to have company." He turned his head and flashed a smile at Riley, who returned it with a small one.

Another moment of quiet followed, and the girl was the one who broke it. "You don't know how lucky you are to have both parents like you do. I want to say it's not fair, but that's not true. Everyone has parents, dead or alive. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm jealous. You don't know how it feels to lose a loved one, and I'm not trying to say that should happen to you, but to not know loss in this world is what's not fair. Nothing bad seems to happen to you." She rambled, her tone growing bitter.

"I may have grown up in this city, but that doesn't mean I haven't had my fair share of loss. All of my friends from school are gone, snatched up by the military, some of them probably dead by now. I've been mugged, beaten to within an inch of my life just because someone felt violent that day, and I have the scars to prove it. I've had knives pulled on me, and a whole bunch of other shit that I won't even name happen to me. You think I don't know pain? You're wrong." Jason spat moodily in reply, and Riley mentally kicked herself for letting her tongue get the better of her.

This time the tension in the air was almost palpable. "I'm sorry…I'm just going through a rough time, what with losing my parents and all. When I see you with yours, it's like a slap in the face. I know it's stupid to think that just because I'm unhappy, everyone else should be unhappy, too. I can't help it, though." Riley sighed, breaking the silence again. Jason's tense posture relaxed and he threw her a sympathetic glance.

"I'm not perfect, Riley. No matter what Johnny or anybody else says, I have just as many faults as everyone else. They might not be the same, but they're there. C'mon, it's getting dark. We should go inside." Jason replied, his tone clipped. It was in fact night time now. The sun had gone down and the stars were beginning to poke through the sparse clouds that had rolled in.

The blonde silently nodded followed the boy inside. Once they were in the apartment, they discovered Shane had already made the pull-out couch into a bed. Jason's parents sat at the table, playing a game of cards. They looked up as they saw the pair come in, and then went back to their game. Shane growled and flicked his cards on the table, signifying his defeat.

"I will beat you one day at poker, honey. No matter how many games it takes, I will win." The gray-haired man vowed, signing his words at the same time. He motioned for Jason and Riley to join the game, and they sat down at the table. Julie dealt the cards with a satisfied smirk, and they played until both teenagers were falling asleep at the table. Jason and his mother had tied two for two, while Shane and Riley totalled none. Shane called it a night and they all shuffled to their respective beds. The blonde was too tired to change, and fell asleep with her day clothes still on.

Riley awoke in the middle of the night with a start. She had another nightmare about her father abusing her, but it was quickly fading away. The girl hated nightmares, but never seemed to be able to get rid of them. The girl was used to them, however. She shivered more from fear than cold because the room was humid and hot as it was. The open window didn't help to cool the apartment down. Only the rich could afford air conditioning. Sleep made Riley's eyelids grow heavy, but she feared that if she closed them again, the bad dreams would come back.

A sudden light blinded her in the darkness, and the blonde wondered if she had fallen asleep and was having another nightmare again. She shielded her eyes and blinked away the grogginess, her curiosity getting the better of her. The thin beam of light was coming from behind Jason's door, which he had left ajar. She reluctantly got out of bed with the express reason to tell him off for waking her up.

The floorboards creaked as Riley padded over to the boy's room, not bothering to knock as she pushed open the door. Jason's face was a mask of surprise as he glanced up from the object in his hands to look at Riley. It immediately turned into one of coolness as he realized he had been caught, but didn't want to show it. The source of the light, the lamp on his desk, flickered in the otherwise dark room. The scent of stale smoke hit Riley again, and this time she wanted answers.

"Sorry I woke you up. I should have closed my door." Jason said dryly, putting the tiny object he was holding on the desk. There was no use hiding it now. It was a substance of sorts, rolled up in white paper. Riley recognized it as a joint, and inclined her head towards it.

"You a pothead, or something? I know marijuana when I see it. Don't lie to me." Riley commented, her words a bit slurred because of her sleepiness. She leaned against the doorframe and glared at her friend with slightly blurred vision.

Jason sighed, biting his lip. He was wearing something akin to gym shorts and a ratty white t-shirt. "Yeah, okay I smoke pot sometimes. Happy? My parents don't know I do it, and I get it from a grower down the street. I only smoke at night, when everyone's asleep so nobody can catch me, but I guess that backfired. Don't tell anyone, okay? Go back to sleep." Jason gave the girl a pleading look despite his irritated tone. Riley could tell he wanted nothing more than her out of his room. She wasn't going to leave without a fight, though.

The blonde crossed her arms over her chest and continued leering at the boy. "Why did you even start doing drugs in the first place? They don't force that on you in the military until you're like sixteen. Don't your parents wonder where all the money's going?" She interrogated the boy, becoming slightly more awake as time went by. She stifled a wide yawn.

The dark-haired boy chuckled like he knew something she didn't. He leaned back in his wooden chair, folding his arms behind his head. "I do…favours for my grower and his other clients, and this is how he pays me. It's a sweet deal, and as you said, it was going to happen anyway. The guy offered me a free joint and I was hooked. Of course they taught us the negative effects of drug use in school, but that doesn't seem to stop anyone, does it?" Jason's tone turned more conversational as he steadily relaxed.

"I thought the negative effects of drug use were enough to deter idiots like you from using them. When that dealer cuts you off, you're going to be in a shitload of trouble. And when your parents find out, they're not going to be very happy." Riley warned, yawning again.

The boy snorted derisively, rolling his eyes. His shoulders tensed, giving away his fake calm. "Who says my parents are going to find out? This has been going on for a couple of months and they're still none the wiser. Plus, I'm valuable to my dealer. I've been sworn to secrecy about what I do, but you wouldn't care anyway. I'll be working for him for a long time to come."

Riley arched an eyebrow, surprised at his naïveté. "Sure, I believe you." She drawled, thinking the opposite. Couldn't he see how stupid this scheme of his was? "I'll also be eager to see your parents' reactions when they ask you about the joint left on the dining table in the morning."

Jason's collected expression dissolved as she realized what she meant. "You wouldn't. I can't believe you'd stoop to that level, ratting on your friend like that." He tried to keep his voice even, but it wavered with his anxiety.

Riley laughed mockingly, and snatched the joint from the desk before Jason could do the same. "I can't believe you're dumb enough to think that your little plan won't fall apart and that dealer of yours won't kick you to the curb. They're using you as a pawn, Jason. It's better to get out while you still can, even if it means getting chewed out by your parents. I'm trying to help you." She ended on a sincere note, but she could tell the boy was just getting angrier. He snapped sooner than she would have thought.

Jason was up within seconds, his demeanor changing from annoyed to wild and angry within that timeframe. He made for an intimidating figure when he was angry, but Jason didn't scare the blonde. She had dealt with more frightening people than a ticked off fourteen-year old teenager. The boy held his hand out, his whole body tense and his hand shaking. There was a desperate, dangerous gleam in his eyes. "I don't need your help, or anyone else's for that matter. Give it back, go back to bed, and we'll forget this ever happened." They had been talking quietly to avoid waking anyone up until this point, but now Jason's voice rose to a normal volume. Riley threw a worried look at the closed door to Shane and Julie's room, and then returned her gaze to the furious boy in front of her.

"Look at yourself, Jason. This drug is controlling you. I bet you're never like this under normal circumstances. I can help you, if you'd let me." Riley's voice was laced with pity, and her senses had gone on high alert. In retrospect, she should have known better than to take away an addict's sustenance and then confront him about it.

Jason didn't seem to hear her. He was completely focused on getting the joint back, and lunged for her. Surprised that he would turn to violence so quickly, Riley didn't have time to brace for the impact as Jason shoved her forcefully against the wall on the opposite side of the corridor. He pinned her there with his bodyweight, grabbing the wrist with the roll of marijuana in it and digging his fingernails in. Riley gasped in pain, feeling his hot breath at her ear and the heat radiating off his body. She squeezed her eyes shut, her heart hammering against her ribcage. "Jason, you're hurting me. Let go!" The blonde ordered feebly, but her captor ignored her.

"Give it back, go back to bed, and we'll forget this ever happened." The boy repeated in a low growl, now more angry than desperate. He ignored the blonde's whimper and the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Riley vigorously shook her head, and Jason let out a feral snarl, digging his fingernails in deeper until he felt wetness around them. The girl gave a high-pitched yelp, and suddenly the door to Shane and Julie's bedroom burst open. Jason's father stood in the doorway, bleary-eyed and furious.

"What the hell is going on here?" The balding man demanded as Jason sprang away from Riley, coming back to his senses. The terrified girl, now free, flung the marijuana and herself at Shane, letting him envelop her in a comforting hug. She sobbed into his gray flannel shirt, and the man stared down the crumbled joint on the floor. He nimbly picked it up, rubbing Riley's back soothingly with his free hand. Shane seemed to be at a loss for words, glancing disbelievingly between the drug, his son, and Riley. His eyes held a mixture of disappointment and pity.

Jason averted his gaze and looked down at his feet, guilt crashing over him like a tidal wave.


	5. Snake Encounter

**A/N: Hey readers, sorry for the super long wait. School is taking over, so that leaves no time to write. DownintheDeep is on hiatus for this reason until further notice, so all forthcoming chapters including this one will be written by BlueSky509. Also, I have never gotten a tattoo, so all information on that process was taken from the Internet. If I have forgotten anything, let me know. **

**If anyone has played Assassin's Creed, you'll find a few similarities in the Cobras. Please enjoy!**

"Jason…I don't know what to say except for…why?" Shane breathed, the realization that his son was a drug addict overwhelming him. The disappointment in his tone was almost more than Jason could bear. The tension was palpable in the corridor in the silence that followed, the boy still not meeting his father's eyes. Riley slowly calmed down to sniffles, reluctant to leave the safety of Shane's arms. The muscles in his shoulders and forearms were bunched up like thick cords against her thin frame, evidence of his current anxiety. The blonde couldn't look at her friend, not after what he had done to her.

The dark-haired boy finally lifted his gaze. His eyes were full of remorse and the guilt wasn't ebbing away. He appeared like a frail, frightened child in the darkness, despite his lean figure. His hands were trembling and Jason balled them into fists, but it didn't help much. The boy fished around in his head for words, but how could he explain that he had been going behind his parents' backs committing petty crimes for drugs? As it stood, he could be thrown in juvenile prison for underage drug possession if his parents wished it.

"I…I don't know what came over me. I didn't want to hurt Riley, honest. I don't know…I don't know what else I can say." Jason stammered, acting as if he was standing trial before the man who could choose to hang him or set him free. He didn't have a very strong argument as to why he had committed violence against Riley, but now he was afraid of what he was capable of doing under certain circumstances.

The balding man appeared to come to his senses, furrowing his brow. His square jaw worked as he tried to make the situation seem logical in his mind. It didn't work; he had never experienced such violence from his son. This wasn't the boy he knew. Jason wouldn't dare hurt an innocent girl. "How long have you been doing drugs, Jason?" The heightened tone of his voice surprised Shane, as if he were close to crying. Riley had stopped crying nowwasly snly sniffling now, and stepped behind him to shield herself with his body, like Jason was a wild animal she didn't want to get close to. She peeked out from behind the man's shoulder, watching her friend cautiously.

The boy scuffed the floor with his heel, lacing his fingers behind his back like a child caught stealing a classmate's crayons. "Two months…" Jason mumbled, reverting back to staring at the floor again. He hadn't noticed how worn the dull wood looked until now, when he intended to study every detail of it for as long as he could.

Shane pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled deeply, trying not to explode and wake their neighbours. He felt like a complete fool, oblivious to his son's actions for this long. He was glad Jason had been caught now and not when something worse had happened, for example finding the boy dead in an alley, stabbed in the back for the marijuana in his pocket.

"We'll talk about this in the morning Jason, before training camp. It's late and you two should be rested for tomorrow." The man murmured, suddenly exhausted. "I'm grateful to you, Riley, for revealing this to Julie and I before someone got seriously injured or worse. Get some sleep, and I don't want to hear a peep from either of you for the rest of the night." Shane managed a tired smile at the blonde before shuffling back to his bedroom. Jason shot Riley a hateful glare which conveyed a simple message: This is your fault. I'm suffering now because of you.

The girl felt the sting as if Jason had said the words out loud. Jason strode back the short distance to his room, and Riley winced as he slammed the door shut. Not a second later she heard Shane sharply yell from his room, "Jason!" His tone reminded her of her father's when he was on his last nerve and ready to go into a furious rage. This was usually followed by a beating, but Shane didn't seem like the type to beat his children. Alone in the dark hallway, Riley stifled a yawn and began the journey back to the pull-out couch. The neon green light coming from the oven clock cast a dim, barely discernible glow around the kitchen as the blonde passed by. It dutifully informed her that it was 11:57, and Riley cursed under her breath. It was going to be a long day tomorrow and she had to wake up early. Crawling into bed, the girl stared up at the ceiling and wondered which terrible memory she was going to relive next in her nightmares. Soon she felt her eyelids growing heavy and fell into another fitful sleep.

Jason awoke to a sharp rap on his bedroom door, and heard his father's voice telling him to get dressed. Glancing at his alarm clock, he groaned and reluctantly crawled out of bed to put on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt with the faded name of some pre-infection band that he had never heard of. It was barely seven in the morning, and the boy rubbed the sleep from his eyes. If the military was never going to let him sleep in again, it would be a blessing to be killed in battle so that he could sleep all he wanted. Entertaining the thought of battle and shooting the heads off Infected, Jason dragged himself out of his room and braced himself for the verbal lashing that was sure to come from his father.

"_It's all Riley's fault. If she hadn't come along and ruined everything, I wouldn't be cut off and my parents wouldn't be treating me like a criminal. She's only been here one day and already she's caused more trouble than she's worth…" _The dark-haired boy ran a hand through his hair as he stepped out into the hallway, determined to get his sleep-tousled hair in order but too lazy to get a comb from the bathroom.

Everyone else was already sitting at the table eating scrambled eggs and sausages, still in their nightwear. The sleeves of Julie's faded, once canary yellow nightgown fluttered feebly in the light breeze coming from the open window, and Shane glanced up at Jason's entrance. He made a grunt, acknowledging his son's presence without the usual greeting. Jason's mother managed a small smile at the boy, but it didn't reach her eyes. Riley, having changed into a violet tank top and jeans, completely ignored him, which was fine with him. He sat down without a word and scooped scrambled eggs onto his plate, as well as a couple of small, fried sausages.

The silence at the table was uncomfortable, and Shane finally broke it before it could become unbearable. "Jason, your mother and I have been talking and we've decided that we should enroll you in a rehab program to handle this addiction of yours." The man said calmly, and Riley awaited her friend's reaction. Only now she wasn't so sure Jason was her friend anymore.

The dark-haired boy snorted with laughter into his eggs, earning a glare from his mother and a raised eyebrow from his father. While still trying to hold back his amusement, Jason chuckled, "You're kidding, right? Rehab doesn't exist here. Any programs that do are a complete joke and a waste of time! No one cares anymore, Dad!" He flung his free hand up to emphasize his point.

Shane sighed, clearly expecting this. "I know that a lot of people have stopped caring, but there are still those who do. A friend of mine has a sister that runs a decent program, and he has told me that she has a pretty good success rate. That's more than I can say for most in this city." He stabbed a piece of his sausage and put it in his mouth, watching Jason's expression turn from amused to defiant.

The boy dropped his fork and crossed his arms as he realized his father was serious.; that the older man wasn't going to back down. "I'm not going. I don't care how good this woman is; she's not going to do shit for me. Plus, you know that doing drugs is normal around here. The military's going to introduce them to us at some point or other. It's inevitable." Hearing the childishness of his own voice, Jason clenched his jaw. He wasn't doing a very good job of talking himself out of this one.

Jason's father laced his fingers together and stared his son in the eye. The boy stared back just as unflinchingly. They were like two rams eying each other before butting heads. "You have a choice, son. You always have a choice. Please do the right thing before it's too late." Shane's tone was sincere, and Jason remained unperturbed. Julie gave him a pleading look, but the boy ignored it and continued staring at his father.

"I'm still not going. C'mon, Riley, we have to go to training camp. We'll be late." Jason growled in a stubborn voice, pushing himself away from his half-empty plate. The blonde gave Shane and Julie an appreciative look, excusing herself and grabbing her pack from beside the couch. The sheets were still rumpled where she had slept, and she quickly straightened them while Jason attended to his own things.

As the pair put on their army boots, Shane said with finality from the table, "I'll visit Diana, my friend's sister, and see if she has any room for you, Jason. Good luck at camp."

Jason growled something unintelligible as he heaved open the door to apartment, not bothering to wait for Riley as she tied her laces. She scampered after him before the door fully shut. The sky outside was gray and the weather humid. A sharp wind relieved the humidity, but Jason knew from experience that this could only mean a storm was coming today.

Riley didn't feel particularly bad about unintentionally ratting on Jason, as the treatment could only help him. She knew what people did for drugs as a result of her father taking them, and the stories he bragged about weren't pretty. If Jason was involved in a drug ring, they could only be taking advantage of him. The blonde cleared her throat, wanting to break the uncomfortable silence as they strode quickly toward their destination, ducking into an alleyway to hide from the biting breeze.

"I'm not talking to you." Jason snapped irritably, switching the weight of his backpack from one shoulder to the other. His long stride caused Riley to switch to a light jog to keep up with him. They made their way to the military compound in silence, and upon arrival realized nobody was in the training yard. It was deserted, and the human-shaped targets at the other end stared accusingly back at them, riddled with bullet holes.

"Where is everybody?" The dark-haired boy asked, more to himself than Riley.

Movement to the blonde's right made her whip around and shout threateningly, "Who's there?"

A chuckle resounded from a shadowed doorway to the barracks, and Johnny stepped out in his regulatory green t-shirt and military pants. He leered at the pair like a cat at frightened mice, but didn't seem inclined to pounce. Riley didn't lower her guard as Johnny stepped towards them. Something seemed different about the usually intimidating boy. He looked distracted, and his eyes kept darting around like he expected someone to jump him.

"Today's tattoo day, everyone's in the cafeteria. I'd like to finish beating you up, Jason, but that process took a lot out of me. I'm property of the Denver Armed Forces now, and I'm in Squad 14. I hope we're in the same one, Jason. Wouldn't that be fun?" Johnny's tone was sickly sweet, but laced with bitterness. He showed his left upper arm, where a fresh, black inscription read "Denver Armed Forces, Squad 14" in neat, bold letters. The skin around the tattoo was red, evidence of the damage caused. The pair was taken aback; no one mentioned tattoos and neither wanted one.

"What if we refuse?" Riley questioned, crossing her arms and trying to look defiant.

The blond boy smirked. "They'll knock you out and do it to you anyway. It happened to a couple of my squeamish friends already. You might as well get it over with. I hear tattoos were really common before the infection; they a popular form of self-expression, actually. This is more like saying someone owns me." Johnny shrugged nonchalantly, but his slightly furrowed brow and tense shoulders suggested he did care that the military owned him. He disappeared into the barracks, and Riley and Jason shared a worried look before following. They ended up at the end of the long corridor, where rows of recruits stood in line. At each of the six tables, a tattoo artist in military clothing sat with a terrified-looking fourteen-year old recruit, etching letters into the child's skin with a contraption Jason had never seen before. It looked like two tiny, metal cylinders that were attached to a thick needle. It obviously used electricity because a cord extended from it and was hooked up to a small generator at the back of the room.

Major Wright noticed the pair come in and marched over to them. He had a clipboard in hand with a list on it, and his face was as emotionless as ever. "You're late, but that doesn't matter." He snapped, and ran the pen in his hand down the list of what were most likely recruits. "You'll both be in Squad 25, down at the last table. Don't let me catch you coming in here with civilian clothes again, or you'll be doing extra push-ups." It would have been a pathetic threat from anyone but Wright.

"Yes, Sir!" Jason and Riley responded in unison, giving the burly man a salute. He ignored them and went about his business, pushing past the pair in the cramped room. Jason and Riley hurried down the length of the room and got in line behind a dark-skinned boy with curly black hair, who didn't look at all afraid of getting a tattoo. He looked sixteen instead of fourteen, but Riley didn't dare ask him his age. He looked like he wanted to punch something, and she didn't want it to be her. The brunette girl at the table looked faint, and had her eyes squeezed shut as the tattooist etched letters into her skin. The artist had used a stencil as a guide, which eased Jason's fears about the tattoo turning out wrong.

Once the dark-skinned boy in front of them was done, it was Jason's turn. He sat down at the table and held his left arm out. The artist switched the needle for a sterile one and rubbed a transparent cream on a medium-sized square on Jason's upper arm. He realized it was soap. Once the area was clean, the artist took a razor and shaved the area, patting it dry. He then applied something that Jason thought was odd: deodorant. He was going to ask why, but thought better of it. The man sported a gray buzz-cut and was as burly as Wright, but looked more brutal, if that was possible. He did his work in silence. Pressing the stencil to the area, the artist was gentler with it than he looked. The man peeled it off after a few minutes and what was left was a black inscription of the words "Denver Armed Forces, Squad 25." The man then took his handheld contraption and started tracing the letters with it on Jason's arm.

Jason felt the needles piercing his skin like a hot itch, but he didn't dare flinch. His pain tolerance was high enough that the needles didn't hurt much, but it still stung. Riley threw him a worried look, but he gave her an encouraging smile. Before he knew it, the man was telling him to shove off so Riley could have her turn. The dark-haired boy wasn't sure if he should thank him for labelling him as a slave of the army, but mumbled a quick thanks anyway.

Riley looked nervous as the tattoo artist repeated the process, but she didn't show any signs of pain, either. Jason could tell she was uncomfortable from the tense set of her shoulders and clenched jaw, though. Jason admired his tattoo, but he now understood Johnny's discomfort. There was no turning back now, he was property of the army and so was Riley. The boy wondered how big Squad 25 was with all the other recruits from over the years, and what these Squads really did. Those questions were answered when the last teenagers got their tattoos done, and Major Wright called them all out to the training yard. They stood in single file as they were trained yesterday, awaiting his announcement. A light drizzle had started, pasting Jason's hair to his skin even more than the humidity did.

Major Wright seemed unconcerned about the rain, though. He stood rigidly in front of the line of cadets, looking somewhat satisfied. "You all belong to the military now. You will meet the rest of your respective Squads at the end of the week when you graduate from training camp. Each Squad serves a unique purpose in the military here. For example: Squad 14 is responsible for ensuring the security of the perimeter outside the city." At the surprised looks of the cadets, Wright smirked, "Yes, I said outside the city. Some of you will be working inside on patrols, others as sentries, and so on. There are many roles which you will serve in the military over the course of your career. If we find you're particularly good at your job, you might just be recommended to the Cobras." His eyes flicked to Jason for a split second, and one cadet, one of Johnny's friends, decided to speak out of turn.

"Aren't the Cobras those guys with the snake tattoos and cut throats? It sounds more like a sadistic cult to me!" The curly, brown-haired boy sneered, and others snickered. A vein pulsed in Major Wright's neck, but he decided to stay calm.

In a sadistically honeyed voice, the burly man stated, "What you say is only partially true, Cadet. The Cobras do get snake tattoos and their vocal cords cut. They are an elite branch of the military which only includes the best of the best. Think of it as the Navy SEAL's of your parents' generation. Their job is to carry out particularly dangerous stealth missions, such as assassinations, spying, and generally bringing down those dirty, annoying vermin who oppose the military, one by one. Cobras are silent killers and they work alone. Does that answer your question, Cadet?" The boy nodded, and nobody laughed this time.

A trickle of fear ran down Jason's back. Cobras sounded dangerous, to put it lightly. He wouldn't want to meet one in a dark alley anytime soon. It wasn't just the throat cutting and tattooing that scared him, though. Being ordered to kill people just because they didn't share the same views was wrong. It wasn't a secret that rebels tried to bring the military down through violent protests and demonstrations, which usually included explosives, but to just go around killing them…watching them die and getting your hands stained with their blood…how could one person bear all that guilt?

Jason was jolted out of his reverie by Major Wright speaking again. "Those who aren't changed, do so now. We will resume training by going on a nice, long run." The cadets groaned and the few who were still in 'civilian clothes' trudged back into the barracks to change into their uniforms. As Jason headed into the barracks, he swore he saw something move in the shadows cast by taller buildings on the roof, but when he looked again he saw nothing through the rain splattering on his face.

The rain had increased over the course of the day, dissipating the morning's humidity, and all the cadets were cold, wet, and exhausted by the end of it. Jason still hadn't forgiven Riley, and continued giving her the cold shoulder, literally, even as they sloshed through the puddles that led up the steps into the apartment building. Riley was fine with him not talking to her. After his little outburst the night before, she wasn't sure she wanted to be friends with someone so temperamental. She even considered moving out, and made a mental note to go to the boarding school after dinner.

Once the pair was inside, they discovered that Jason's parents were deep in conversation at the table. They were conversing using Sign language, and didn't notice the two come in until they came up to the table. Jason found it odd that his father was home from work so early. He cleared his throat to get their attention.

Shane half-turned in his chair and gave his son a small, welcoming smile. It was more to acknowledge his presence than anything. "Had a good day at training, Jason? What about you, Riley?" His tone was strained, and it was clear that whatever he had been discussing with Julie was serious and unsettling. Riley wondered what it was.

The dark-haired boy crossed his arms, clearly not interested in pleasantries. Riley was about to answer by complaining about how crappy the weather made their training, but Jason spoke before she could. "I still haven't changed my mind about rehab, in case you're wondering." It was the most he had spoken all afternoon, and Riley admitted that she admired his determination, even if a better word for it would be stubbornness.

The muscles in Shane's clenched jaw worked, evidence of his frustration. "I have donkeys in the barn less stubborn than you. Couldn't you at least try it once, just to see what it's like? You have no idea how helpful it could be." The man explained in a measured voice, trying to contain his annoyance at his son's childish behaviour.

"We went over this, I don't _need _help and I don't _want _it. I can handle this on my own." Jason growled curtly. He switched the weight of his backpack to the other shoulder and stalked over to his room, closing the door with a finalizing slam. Shane clenched his fists and glanced up at the ceiling, as if expecting their neighbours above them to complain. Nothing happened and the man let out a tired sigh. He seemed to age ten years in a space of a minute as he held his head in his hands. Julie comfortingly rubbed his shoulder and made to get up, but her husband placed his hand on hers and she got the message. He quickly signed something to her and Riley didn't need to know the language to understand what he had said: Jason needed some time alone.

The balding man glanced up at Riley as if noticing the girl for the first time. "I apologize for Jason's behaviour…he's usually not like this. I believe it's the drugs that are making this dark side of him rear its ugly head." He said in a quiet voice, as if drained of energy.

Riley could sympathize. Her father showed nothing but his dark side when there was alcohol around, which was all the time. "I get it…my father was an alcoholic, and I always had to endure his drunken rages when he was still around. My mother died when I was a kid." She had no idea why she was telling these strangers about her family, but they seemed like good, trustworthy people. The blonde thought back to the Sign conversation the pair of adults were having earlier and queried, "If you don't mind me asking, what were you talking about when I came in?"

Shane sighed again. Julie gave her husband an encouraging kiss on the cheek and slipped away into the kitchen. Riley heard the stove being lit as Shane motioned for her to sit down. "I'm glad Jason decided to hole himself up in his room, because he would be even more upset if he heard this." The man had dropped the volume of his voice to a low murmur as a precaution. "There were some diseases discovered in the pigs today, easily treatable, but that's not the worst part...The Cobras are getting stronger, and the military is demanding mounts for them so the bastards can ride to other Quarantine Zones and increase their numbers. It's also for general defense inside the city for protests, but it's still catching on."

Riley furrowed her brow. Why would the Cobras want other people from different Quarantine Zones? Weren't there good enough people here in Denver? "Couldn't they just use the military vehicles? We have gas here; they could just drive over there. They don't need to use horses." She said in a perplexed tone.

Shane chuckled quietly, stealing a glance at Jason's door. It was still shut. "They could, but there are precious few of them to spare. Horses are much more abundant and more reliable, too. You mentioned gas, but there's not as much left of that as there used to be. I don't know why they want to increase their numbers, but something doesn't seem right. It's like the military's planning something, and they're the best when it comes to keeping their mouths shut." His face resembled Major Wright's now. It was just as stony and dead serious.

"How did you find this out? Are you going to breed more horses for them?" Riley asked anxiously. The smell of cooking beef wafted into the girl's nose, and she knew dinner was going to be ready soon.

The man's mouth was a hard line, his shoulders tense underneath his green plaid shirt. "A friend of mine is a retired officer, and he has contacts who give him information. Just because I'm old doesn't mean I don't know what's going on." He chuckled dryly, and then continued, "As for the horses…I've got no choice. It's this or being arrested for resisting the military. Pixie wasn't the first foal born for this scheme of theirs. I've had others before her and more to come."

"You must be in charge of a lot of horses…where do you guys keep them all? That barn I went to didn't look big enough for what you're planning." Riley stated, and accepted the delicious-looking plate of fried beef and steamed vegetables that Julie handed to her. She began to eat, wondering if Jason could smell the food through the door. If she was hungry, he must be starving.

Shane shrugged, trying to look more relaxed for his wife's sake. Julie got a plate for herself and Shane, ladling food on for both of them. "We have other barns and small pastures outside the city. They're well-guarded and we keep equal amounts of our stock there and inside the city." He said as he took a few bites. The man gave his wife an appreciative smile and she beamed back, glad he was enjoying the food. "Jason! Dinner's ready!" Shane called, but no answer came from the boy's bedroom. Growling something under his breath, he made to get up, but Riley held him back.

"I'll get him." The blonde offered, and knocked on Jason's door. Silence was the reply and she opened the door, expecting to see him smoking pot on the windowsill. Instead the room was empty, the window open, and the flimsy curtains flapping in the wind. Jason's pack was missing, but his army uniform had been carelessly strewn across the bed. A pair of hands slipped away from the window sill and out of sight. Groaning, Riley peered over the edge of the window, the rain instantly soaking her exposed head. The figure of Jason in the darkness proceeded to climb down the side of the building, using other windows as hand and footholds. She retreated back into the dining room feeling both angry at Jason's stupidity and worried because of the worsening weather.

"Jason's gone. He took his stuff with him, too." Riley announced as she quickly strode over to the entryway, putting on her army boots. They were more waterproof than her other worn-through pair. Shane cursed and Julie glanced worryingly from the girl to her husband.

"I thought he'd do something like this. You're going to look for him? I'm coming with you." Shane stated as he rose from the table. Riley put a hand up to stop him.

"No, I have to do this by myself. I'm faster than you, I know how to fight, and I know these streets like the back of my hand. I'll find him and bring him back." Riley explained, tying her laces. After a minute of deliberation, Shane gave in and waved her off.

"You better. Good luck, Riley." The balding man said, reluctantly sitting back down at the table. The blonde nodded and heaved the heavy door open. Once outside, she pulled the hood of her brown rain jacket over her head. It didn't do much to shield her eyes from the pouring rain, which did a good job of obscuring pretty much anything outside a five-foot radius. The cold wind chilled her to the bone and her teeth chattered. Luckily, she spotted Jason slinking away into an alley leading towards the shadier part of town, which also happened to be notorious for fights over drugs and the dealings of drug rings.

The blonde tailed the dark-haired boy, glad that the roofs over the alley provided some reprieve from the rain. Jason was dressed in nothing more than a gray long-sleeved shirt and soaked jeans, and made little noise as he lithely leaped over puddles and stopped to peer around corners. He was oblivious to Riley's presence at the other end of the alley, and she intended to keep it that way until she could find out where he was going and why. After a few more minutes of following him, she discovered the answer to that question.

Jason ducked inside a small, abandoned warehouse that had once been used to house ammunition and weapons until it was raided by rebels and set on fire. The exterior remained intact, but just barely. The inside was most likely blackened and strewn with bits of debris, and it was these kinds of places that drug ring leaders preferred to meet their clients. Riley didn't think it was a good idea to just walk in there and drag Jason out by the collar of his shirt, lest she be gunned down by angry druggies. She climbed a stack of blackened crates that were just high enough to be able to let her climb through a smashed window on the side of the metal building. It was difficult work climbing up, and the girl's arms were burning when she reached the window, hauling herself through and crouching on the rafters. Riley tried to be as quiet as possible, but the old, weakened wood creaked at her every move. She eavesdropped on the conversation below, but it wasn't easy due to the hushed voices of the men in black trench coats below and the pounding of rain against the metal roof above.

Inside the ware house, it was exactly what one would expect after a raid: bits of wooden boxes strewn on the floor, charred by the fire. The unlit light bulbs hanging from the ceiling had frayed wires and some were smashed. The rafters had splintered in places, and some parts were completely gone. This made Riley question her choice of hiding spot, but it was better than nothing. Below, stacked wooden pallets and empty aluminum cargo boxes, like those used on freighters, lined the metal walls. A ring of about five men stood in the middle, and one greeted Jason. He looked as sleazy and nasty as any drug dealer, with a fox's smile and a three-day brown beard. His damp, brown hair was streaked with gray, but he looked about ten years younger than Shane.

"Nice of you to join us, Jason. Did your stash run out? We're agreeing on a deal right now, if you're interested." The drug dealer's voice sounded whiny and intimidating at the same time.

Jason shook his head. "No, but my parents found out. My stupid, backstabbing friend ratted on me. They're trying to send me to rehab now because of her." He spat venomously, and Riley felt the sting as if he were saying it to her face. This wasn't the Jason she knew. This was the dark side of him, as Shane had said. He was trying to put on a show for the dealers; trying to look tougher than he was. Riley caught a flicker of movement off to her right, but assumed it was just a pigeon or rat. Whatever it was, it made no noise. It didn't stop the hairs on the back of her neck from rising, but she was already scared of being caught by the druggies down below or falling from her precarious perch on the rafters. It was a good 20-foot drop to the ground below, and she hated heights. A cold draft blew in from the broken window, and the girl shivered violently, wishing she had a warmer jacket.

A low, rumbling chuckle resounded from the men below and the brown-haired dealer spoke again. "I assume you'll be leaving us, then? Such a shame…we were starting to like you." The man obviously feigned interest, and Riley realized she had been right. These men didn't give a rat's ass about Jason, and as long as he was doing their dirty work, they would keep reeling him back in with the promise of his next fix.

The dark-haired boy held his hands up, as if trying to stop their words. "Whoa, I never said anything about leaving. I'm not going anywhere, especially not to rehab. Do you have a job for me? I'm not out, but I'm running low. My dumbass friend ruined my third-last joint."

Riley hissed through her teeth at his insults, and made a mental note to punch him in the face for them later. Then drug dealers below conversed while Jason hooked his thumbs in his pockets, absentmindedly gazing up at the rafters. Riley shrunk back, but had realized too late that she had nowhere to hide if he spotted her. Jason's eyes met hers and narrowed, as if he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

The blonde prayed that he wouldn't announce her presence, and Riley felt the rafters shift, but could have sworn she hadn't moved. The drug dealers glanced in the direction that their young colleague was staring in, and gave a shout of both terror and surprise. She was slow to realize that it wasn't her that scared the dealers. A flash of silver caught her eye and she watched in horror and fear as a black shape descended from the rafters, clearly human, a dagger in hand. The hooded figure landed on the brown-haired drug dealer and he only had time to let out a garbled scream before being silenced forever. A pool of blood formed from where the figure, now recognizable as male, retracted the dagger from the man's neck and proceeded to slash away at the other dealers. He moved as fast as a whirlwind and as elegantly as a cat, and although he left a trail of corpses in his wake, there was a strange, artful beauty to the way he handled the blade in his hand. It was like a deadly dance, and his partners were the victims. The dealers had no chance of survival, and scattered like mice.

Mesmerized for a minute, Riley forced herself to look away from the hooded figure's slashing and stabbing. He even managed to bring down a dealer by shooting him with an arrow. She was suddenly aware that the man could mistake Jason for a threat and kill him, too. Riley quickly climbed back out the window and down the tower of crates, heading for the entrance to the warehouse. She ran into Jason as he just stood there, rooted to the spot. The man appeared to have frozen him with his icy, blue-eyed stare, which was barely visible under the shadow of his hood. Riley noticed several things about the mysterious assassin: He wore a black coat like the men he had just killed, only his appeared to be custom made with an embroidered insignia and button-down sides. The beak of his hood bore the two poised snakes Riley recognized were identical to the ones on Major Rowland's arm.

Noticing Riley, the Cobra smirked and made a small bow, as if he had just finished a performance by killing the drug dealers. From what the blonde could tell, he had an unlined, youthful-looking face, broad shoulders, and a lean but muscled body. Blond bangs poked out from under the man's hood, and Riley thought that he couldn't be older than eighteen. The jagged scar on his neck was barely visible in the darkness. A bow and quiver was strapped across his back, but it was empty of arrows. Ignoring the gawking pair, the Cobra proceeded to loot the dealers. He removed an arrow from the man he had shot just two minutes ago, wiped the arrowhead clean on his thigh, and put it back in his quiver.

The girl suddenly found her voice and chastised the hooded man, "Hey, you can't do that, they're dead! They deserve respect!" She didn't know what had come over her, but she knew that there were better ways of getting money than looting bodies. Or maybe he wanted the drugs?

The Cobra ceased looting a dealer's body and glanced up at her in surprise, as if he expected the pair to have left by now. He reached inside the dead man's undone coat and pulled out a wad of paper: letters. That was probably going to be Jason's next job, delivering them. He smiled bemusedly at Riley, put a finger to his lips, and stood up as he pocketed the letters. The leather of his jacket creaked at the movement, and he readjusted the belt of assorted knives on his waist and across his chest. He strode over and ruffled both their heads affectionately, but stopped when he noticed Jason's tattoo under the sleeve of his soaked shirt. Frowning, the young man made a dissatisfied clicking noise in the back of his throat, readjusted his bow, and disappeared off into the darkness.


	6. On the Horizon

"He should have killed me…why didn't he kill me?" Jason breathed in the silence following the Cobra's departure, which up until now was only filled by the rain drumming on the roof of the warehouse. He felt faint, the close brush with death and the corpses around him overwhelming him.

"I thought he was hot. I wouldn't mind being killed by a hot guy." Riley sighed dreamily, but snapped back to reality as the stench of blood and rotting flesh filled her nose. Jason gave her an odd look, a mix of incredulousness and confusion. She swore she saw jealousy behind his frightened brown eyes, but it was gone before she could convince herself it was there.

Jason continued staring at the girl, and then blinked as if trying to make himself believe she was really there. "What the hell are you even doing here? Did you know what could have happened if my dealers spotted you? If that Cobra had been any closer to you up on those rafters, he would have stabbed you, too!" The boy's voice rose from a terrified whisper to an angry shout, catching Riley off guard. She quickly became indignant, placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, obviously he didn't! I will have you know that I promised your father that I would bring you back in one piece, Cobra or no Cobra! Plus, that guy did us both a favor, didn't he? He killed the people who were providing you with those nasty drugs, who I would have had to fight if he hadn't come along. It's a win-win, I guess. C'mon, let's go home." Satisfied, but at the same time trying to keep her dinner from making its way back up her throat, she sauntered towards the entrance.

The dark-haired boy clenched and unclenched his fists, shivering from lack of warmer, waterproof clothing. Anger boiled within him at the thought of a stranger like Riley suddenly entangling herself in his affairs, treating his business like it were her own. The girl knew nothing about him, his family, or how important those dealers were to him. They had provided his lifeblood and though it wasn't her fault that they were killed, she was still stupid enough to get involved with that, too. Why couldn't she just leave him alone and keep to herself? _"Oh yeah, you were the one who invited her to stay in your apartment, dumbass. This is the last time I help a pretty girl…they're nothing but trouble." _The boy vowed, mentally kicking himself.

Jason was brought out of his reverie by the blonde calling his name. He didn't recognize the urgency in her tone until she was practically shoving him up one of the cargo crates. "They're coming! Soldiers, police, they heard the shouts of the dealers! C'mon, move!" The girl hissed as she climbed alongside her friend. Sure enough, the pair heard the roaring engines of a couple of military vehicles, gunshots ringing out, and the yelled commands of their numerous occupants. Jason and Riley hastily scrambled up the cargo crates, heading towards the broken window Riley had previously climbed through. They practically fell down the tower of crates in their haste to escape as the scattered beams of flashlights lit up the darkened warehouse.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the pair snuck down the alley that led to Jason's apartment building, being careful not to attract the attention of any soldiers around the warehouse. Once they determined the coast was clear, the two teenagers bolted towards home, hearts racing and breath coming in ragged pants. Riley lithely jumped over puddles and they were in sight of the apartment building when Jason suddenly bowled someone over, cursing under his breath. The blonde skidded to a halt to find a Cobra with a blade at Jason's throat, picking him up by his soaked collar. Riley recognized the Cobra as the one they had just met, but it was hard to tell in the darkness.

"Let me go, I said I was sorry!" Jason whined and struggled, praying that the young man holding him captive hadn't changed his mind about killing him. If Riley didn't know better, she would have thought that the Cobra was having difficulty containing Jason. The blond recognized his prey as just a mere boy, and obliged. He weakly pushed Jason away, making the same dissatisfied clicking noise. Surprised the man had spared his life twice, the dark-haired boy just stared at the Cobra, astonishment written on his features.

"I'm sorry we're bothering you, you must be busy. I'll just get my idiot friend here and we'll be on our way." Riley apologized, grabbing Jason's arm. She made sure to talk in a soothing tone, as if trying to deter a dangerous animal from attacking her. She had never spent this long face-to-face with a Cobra, and the hood made it hard to determine what he was thinking.

The Cobra nodded, sheathing his knife and sagging against the wall. The edge of the roof above provided some relief from the rain, but not much. What Jason could see of his face appeared pale in the darkness, and he held his right arm gingerly. "You're injured." The boy observed, pointing to the man's arm. The blond smirked, amused he had pointed out the obvious.

Riley furrowed her brow, remembering the gunshots of the soldiers not five minutes earlier. "Those soldiers shot you, didn't they? Why? I thought you were all on the same side?"

Jason scoffed, gesturing to the blond man. "Riley, look at him. In this weather, do you think they'd notice the difference between a drug dealer in a trench coat and this guy?" Although the Cobra's leather coat only reached mid-thigh, there wasn't really much of a difference between the two.

The girl shrugged, giving a shake of her head. "I guess not…Still, we can't just leave him here, bleeding to death. He saved our lives, it's only fair." She pointed out, and Jason gave her a warning look. He didn't want anything to do with the Cobra if he could help it.

"I'm sure the man can take care of himself, Riley." Jason enunciated, making it very clear he wanted to leave before the soldiers found them. They could still hear their shouts in the distance, and they were getting closer.

The Cobra coughed, getting their attention. He lifted a shaky left hand, motioning to Jason's backpack. The boy stepped back, wary. "I don't have any medical stuff in here, just some extra clothes and a flask of my dad's whiskey." The blond man nodded and gestured for the bag more urgently. Riley threw an incredulous look at Jason at the mention of alcohol, but said nothing. The boy still refused to give the bag to the Cobra, and fed up with his selfish behaviour, Riley roughly tore it away from her friend's back and chucked it to the young man.

Giving Riley a grateful smile, the blond dug through the bag until he found one of Jason's dry t-shirts. The boy moaned helplessly as he saw his shirt being torn into shreds, and the Cobra holding them in his teeth as he rolled up his leather sleeve, pouring the whiskey on the bullet wound. The man quickly bandaged the wound and offered the bag back to Riley. As the girl took the bag, the Cobra gently held her wrist and kissed the back of her hand in appreciation, a gesture that didn't sit well with Jason. He scoffed and rolled his eyes as the girl giggled nervously.

"Are we done here?" The dark-haired boy questioned, glancing worryingly at the where they had come from. The Cobra nodded and as the pair turned to leave Jason commented much to Riley's displeasure, "By the way, Riley here thinks you're hot." He chuckled as the girl punched him in the arm, blushing furiously. The Cobra smirked again and detached himself from the wall, striding off into the darkness. He seemed to meld with the shadows and after a few seconds it was like he had completely disappeared.

As the pair continued their journey home Riley complained, "Why the hell did you tell him that? What's wrong with you?"

Jason shrugged innocently as they jogged up the steps of the apartment building. "It's only fair since I'm your 'idiot friend', isn't it?" Riley rolled her eyes, refusing to reply.

When they finally made it to Jason's apartment, he fumbled with getting the key in the lock, hands wet and shaking from the cold. Frustrated, Riley grabbed the piece of metal from him and unlocked the door herself, handing the key back to him.

Shane was pacing in the living room, eyebrows scrunched together in worry. Julia leaned against the wall in the corridor reading a book, but she obviously wasn't engaged in it. When the teenagers entered the living room, Shane and Julia embraced their son with exclamations of relief and joy. Riley stood back, half of her wishing she had parents who cared that much about her, and the other half shying away at the human contact. It had never been a positive experience for her.

Much to her surprise, Julia broke away from the two men and cupped Riley's face with both hands. She gave the girl a watery, appreciative smile and hugged her as if she was her own daughter. Stunned, the blonde took a few seconds to awkwardly return the embrace and Julia turned away as her husband started scolding their son. Jason expected it and took the full force of his father's anger, taking turns staring at his feet and glaring daggers at Riley. Rolling her eyes, the blonde shed her jacket and removed her soaked army boots while the boy continued tolerating his chewing-out.

When the balding man decided his son had had enough, he sat down at the table with his head in his hands. Jason was finally able to get a word in edgewise and sat down across from him, beginning the tale summarizing the last 45 minutes. Julia also sat down, but didn't look exactly pleased to see her son recount his drug ring experiences. Riley wandered off toward the bathroom, eager to comb out her wet hair and get into drier clothes. As she ran her blue comb through her damp hair, she sighed to herself. It didn't feel like she was welcome anymore, what with Jason always mad at her and her feeling like she didn't belong with such a wholesome family. The girl in the mirror stared back at her with collarbones sticking out a little too much under her shirt and cheekbones that were just a tad too sharp. Riley always knew she looked a bit sickly, but child abuse never did wonders for the body.

The blonde's thoughts wandered to her own family. Her father had always been a violent man, and she had never loved him. He always blamed her for her mother's death, but she had died during childbirth. Riley still wasn't sure if it was her fault or not, but her father seemed intent on never letting her forget that it was. A lot of things seemed to be the young girl's fault these days. Jason's anger and his little runaway stunt, her father kicking her out and throwing a knife at her, and if she hadn't been friends with Jason, maybe Johnny and his cronies wouldn't have teased him about her being his girlfriend, which she wasn't.

Fighting the urge to cry, Riley placed her comb on the sink rim and took a deep breath, using both hands to steady herself as she leaned against the sink. Staring straight ahead at the girl in the mirror, she willed herself not to cry and eventually the desire passed. The blonde stepped away from the sink and padded out of the blue-tiled bathroom, returning to the table. Apparently Jason was still deep in conversation with his parents, and Riley felt a smile curl the edges of her lips as she remembered his love of hearing his own voice. It must have been torture not talking to her for a whole day, as much as it was a blessing for her.

"You should have seen him, Dad. I've never seen anyone move so fast. It didn't even take two minutes and all five of them were dead. Then he just came to me and Riley, patting our heads like we were dogs, or something." Jason spoke animatedly, obviously recovered from his previous terrifying encounter with the Cobra. It was like he had survived an epic battle, even though he had no part in it and the battle wasn't really that impressive. It seemed like more of a routine for the Cobra than anything else.

Shane chuckled dryly, amused at his son's enthusiasm yet uncomfortable with it at the same time. "As much as I would like to believe otherwise, Cobras are still human and have human emotions. He probably thought you were just some kids that were there at the wrong place and the wrong time…but you weren't, were you? Now that your drug ring is gone, are you going to try that rehab program?" The man's tone was cautious and hopeful, like he was stepping out onto a frozen lake with no knowledge of the thickness of the ice.

Jason's expression hardened and he stared coldly at his father. He was silent for a moment, weighing the options. It would be difficult to get into another drug ring and he highly doubted his parents would let him continue smoking marijuana. Sighing in defeat, the boy answered, "Fine, I'll do it. I won't like it, but I'll try." Shane and Julia smiled at his answer, and the boy shot Riley a glare, silently telling her that he was still mad that he had to do this, and it was her fault.

The blonde returned the glare with a forged smile, and Jason huffed irritably. He claimed he needed to change out of his wet clothes and stalked off to his room, gently closing the door this time. When he didn't come out after ten minutes, Riley became worried and softly rapped her knuckles on his door. Hearing an annoyed grunt as an answer, she pushed the door open to find Jason lying on his bed with his hands behind his head, propping it up. He had changed into black sweat pants and a blue t-shirt with holes in it. In the dim lamplight, his hair still shone with wetness.

Glancing up to see who it was, the dark-haired boy let out a groan of frustration. "Haven't you caused me enough trouble already?"

"That's a nice way of greeting someone who just saved your ass. Again." Riley replied, pulling up a chair from Jason's desk.

This caught the boy's attention and he sat up, shifting his legs so that they were crossed. "How does this count as saving my life? If anything you just made it worse and almost got yourself killed in the process." He said bluntly, smoothing his damp hair back. It made him look like a greaser without the jeans and leather jacket.

"I prevented you from getting kicked to the curb or worse by that drug ring and I encouraged your parents to get you into rehab, therefore preventing something like this stupid stunt or worse from happening again." Riley explained matter-of-factly, fixing her icy blue eyes on him.

The boy lay down again, not bothering to argue. A minute of silence passed. "…Did you really think he was hot?" Jason murmured as he pursed his lips, absentmindedly studying his tattoo.

The question caught Riley by surprise. "Who?"

"The Cobra, dumbass. You said he was hot." The dark-haired boy reiterated, and then caught himself. What was he saying?

The blonde cocked her head, having no idea why Jason would even care about some off-handed comment that obviously wasn't meant for him. "I don't see how my opinion of someone I saw slice a bunch of men to bits affects you." She snorted, picking the dirt out from under her nails.

Jason took a moment to respond, carefully choosing his words. "I don't see how an assassin like that could be considered attractive, that's all. Cobras are dangerous, cold-blooded killers that feel no remorse."

Riley snickered, "If you were a girl and you saw a guy move and handle a blade like that Cobra did, you'd think he was hot, too. You're a guy, you don't get it. It's not what he does, it's how he does it and the message he sends. That Cobra basically sent the message that he's not a guy you want to mess with, but he's also mysterious and alluring. That's what makes him attractive, I guess." She glanced at the clock and sighed. "It's getting late; I'd better get to sleep. Resist the urge to get yourself killed during the night, okay?" She smirked teasingly, standing up and returning the chair to its rightful place. Jason barked a singular laugh as she exited the room.

**5 days later…**

"I have to say, you kids will be fine soldiers and we're glad to have you as an addition to the military. You've successfully graduated training camp and are ready to meet your Squads." Major Wright shouted as he paced in front of the line of cadets. They looked a lot stronger and tougher under the blazing sun, faces sunburned and rifles held stiffly at their sides.

Six Officers stood opposite the cadets as Wright strode between the two lines. "These," the man gestured to the Officers, "are going to be your Squad leaders from now until you either get accepted as a Cobra or resign at eighteen. They will be your authority and you take orders from them."

One of the Officers demanded, "Squad 14, come with me!" A few cadets from the group broke away, following their new authority. The same process was repeated for Squads 16, 18, 21, 43, and 25. Jason and Riley, along with the dark-skinned boy they had seen yesterday, the brunette girl, and another red-haired boy, meekly strode along behind their new Officer like sheep.

As they walked the forty-year-old black-haired man, who wore a uniform similar to Major Wright, informed them in a grainy baritone, "I am Officer Harrison. Squad 25 is responsible for guarding the wall as sentries and also patrolling outside the wall, much like Squad 14. You will be joined by ten others of various ages, backgrounds, and levels of skill. You will be able to resume your studies after today and you will report back to the District Four Military Compound every day to begin your shift at 16:00 until 22:00 hours. Any questions?"

Riley nervously cleared her throat, "What will we be doing today, Sir?" Her voice was uncharacteristically small.

"A good question, Cadet. You will meet your Squad members and we will be doing a patrol outside the city." Harrison answered, glancing over his shoulder with a slight smile. He seemed friendlier than Wright or Rowland, but he still had that threatening aura that came from years in the military. Jason's eyes widened in surprise. They only graduated and the military was letting them outside? He briefly wondered what life beyond the wall was like, if there was anything left of civilization besides other QZ's and the small pockets of cannibals here and there.

District Four wasn't different than any other District, but it was the one closest to the wall and was the most heavily guarded in the city. Jason knew it was because cargo shipments came in and out of the city there, and for that reason it was most prone to attacks by rebels. He tried not to look at the soldiers standing at the checkpoint, who were scary enough with their machine guns and body armour. They glanced at Harrison's pass, ushering the group through without much fuss.

When Harrison led them into what used to be a hotel, Riley discovered what the Officer had promised: five rows of two soldiers awaited them in the run-down lobby. The lobby used to be beautiful judging by the cracked marble floor and pillars, and the double staircase leading up to the second floor was still usable, but the balcony above had no railing and wasn't in as good condition as the first floor. None of the Squad looked older than 25. The majority were male, but Riley spotted a few girls closer to her age in the group. Officer Harrison introduced them one by one and in turn he introduced the newcomers.

"Treat them kindly, and they will treat you the same. We leave for patrol when I get back." Harrison mentioned to the group of five, and then strode off to attend to his own business at the front desk. The rest of Squad 25 broke ranks when they saw Harrison leave and greeted the four warmly in their own way. They all seemed to be friends, or rather good comrades, because the way they interacted with each other told Jason there was a strong sense of trust within the group. One pair of eighteen-year-old boys began rough-housing after introducing themselves properly, and another girl who was Riley's age went in to stop them.

A pair of girls approached Riley, smiling and shaking hands. They were twins, but she could see subtle differences between them like face shape and hair length. Both were red-heads and they seemed only a couple of years older than Riley. The one with shorter hair introduced herself as Myriam and her sister claimed to be Christine.

Another boy three years older than Jason with sandy blond hair introduced himself as George, and challenged Jason to an arm-wrestling tournament to get to know the other boys. Laughing, Jason accepted and followed George to an old, rickety table on the left side of the lobby. Riley was left alone with Myriam and Christine, who already started informing her about who was paired with whom, and which members were available. Riley found it odd that pairings were allowed in the military.

"I thought relationships were just a distraction?" The blonde cocked her head as the girls invited her to sit down on one of the gold, threadbare couches along the wall. They had a clear view of the boys, who were currently cheering Jason on as he took on George.

Myriam laughed, her curly red hair bouncing as she shook her head. "You never know when you might get bit by a Clicker out there. It's better to have someone for a little while than not to have anyone at all. It's fun having a partner. I have George and Christine has Harry over there, with the black hair and dark eyes. Who do you have?" She asked innocently, pointing to a Chinese boy the same age as her.

Riley bit her lip. After a moment of consideration she answered, "I have nobody. Who's single around here?" Her mind flashed an image of Jason, but she pushed it out. She seemed to be too much of a burden to him to be much more than an annoying friend. Plus, given his temper, she didn't want to get on his bad side any more than she had to.

Christine thought for a moment and then pointed a couple of boys out, one with longer, dark brown hair like Jason and another with almost white-blond hair and striking blue eyes. Both were a year older than Riley. The brown-haired boy Christine described as being named Daniel, who was shy and reserved. Myriam picked up her sister's explanation without pause and said that the blond boy was Caleb, who was a bit ambitious, but respectful and quite the comedian.

"Thanks, I'll give it a shot." The girl smiled at Myriam and Christine, who ushered her off in the direction of Caleb. Riley was no master at flirting, nor did she has any positive experience with guys except for Jason and the Cobra, but at least she knew how to strike up a conversation. Caleb glanced up at her approach, putting down the rifle he was cleaning on the table. Unlike the other boys, he wasn't one for arm wrestling. The blond-haired boy had a less prominent jawline than Shane and had a thinner build, but he was still good-looking by anyone's standards.

Riley held a hand out for him to shake and Caleb smiled, accepting the handshake. His grip was firmer than his slight build let on. "I'm Riley; I guess we'll be working together, huh?" The girl introduced herself, taking a seat across Caleb at the rickety table.

"I'm not complaining." Caleb winked, looking the blonde up and down. "My name's Caleb, pleased to meet you. Are you any good with a gun? Those Clickers out there are creatures sent from Hell, I tell you." He said seriously, resuming cleaning his own rifle.

Surprised by the sudden warning, Riley raised both eyebrows. "You sure get right down to business, don't you? I've never really shot anything living, but I can point a gun at something and hit it. My friend Jason over there is pretty much perfect at everything involving shooting, climbing, and fighting, though." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder, but glanced over at the arm wrestling table to see an older boy she recognized as Daniel throw his hands up in victory, leaving Jason defeated.

"Apparently he can't beat Danny at arm wrestling. It's alright; the guy is stronger than he looks." Caleb pointed out, smirking in the direction of the group of guys. "I'm not really into that kind of stuff. I prefer just me and Callie."

"Myriam and Christine told me you don't have a girlfriend…" Riley muttered, briefly wondering if the girls had been misinformed.

Caleb chuckled lightly, patting his rifle. "Is that why you're here?" He laughed louder at Riley's blush. "It's okay; I don't mind flirting every now and then. Callie is my lovely lady, although you'd just call her an old rifle. We go everywhere together, yes we do. Never let each other out of sight." The blond boy said, affectionately stroking the barrel of his gun. Riley found it a bit odd to name a gun and treat it like a lady, but then again there wasn't anything normal about life these days.

Riley understood now why the boy was still single. She forced a smile, excusing herself. The girl cursed Myriam and Christine for setting her up like that with the weird boy, but then again they probably didn't know. She went back over to the girls who were still sitting on the couch. They giggled and asked her how it went, but then doubled over laughing. Okay, so they knew Caleb was 'taken'. Riley couldn't help but join in, even if it was at her expense.

"We're sorry, but we wanted to see how long Caleb would go without mentioning Callie! It was a record two minutes!" Myriam apologized between giggles, but suddenly stopped. She stared dead ahead, straight at the double doors that marked the entrance of the lobby. "It's…it's them, Christy! Oh God, hide!" She squeaked, diving behind the couch. Her sister followed suit without even looking at the door. Riley glanced around in confusion; everyone had gone silent and was staring at the newcomers.

It didn't take Riley long to see why everyone had suddenly frozen. Two Cobras strode down the middle of the room, completely ignoring the young adults and teenagers in the room. They were obviously adult men in their thirties, but the hoods covering half their faces made it difficult to determine their exact age. Riley felt coldness throughout her body as they passed, but attributed it to her own fear of the two men. They spoke in low voices, which meant they had recovered the use of their vocal cords over the years.

"It was a deliberate attack, I swear, Callahan. They knew we sent Ian out that night; they had no reason to shoot!" Riley heard one of the Cobras explain, clearly irritated. She thought back to the younger Cobra she and Jason had helped five nights ago. She was suddenly interested; the same problem had occurred to her that night as well.

"Ian is fine and back on duty, Renwick. I'd like to see Harrison talk his way out of this one. He was substituting for Schwinn on Tuesday night." The Cobra known as Callahan scratched his stubby, gray beard.

Hearing his name, Officer Harrison turned around at the argument between the two other men. His face became a mask of indifference as the Cobras approached him. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?" The man's voice was steady, but Riley caught a note of nervousness in it. She didn't blame him; Cobras were nothing if not intimidating.

"You gave the order to shoot one of our own five nights ago. We ordered you to stand by and only attack when Ian gave the signal!" Renwick shouted, and his companion placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

Harrison smiled pleasantly at the men. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Ian came to us and we investigated the warehouse, but only found his handiwork and nothing else."

Callahan sighed through his nose, becoming irritated like Renwick. "Are you suggesting that the boy shot himself? He reported that one of your soldiers shot him, and he does not lie. Why are you trying to deceive us, Officer? We know you gave the order that night, there was reportedly no reason to attack, and we would like to know why you did. I also hope you have a reason for not reporting directly to us and making poor Ian recount everything. It took two days for him to recover, you know." His voice was dangerously calm.

The man was sweating now and drops of perspiration rolled down his forehead. "I assure you, it was an accident! We thought we saw one of the drug dealers trying to escape; we had no idea it was Ian! I gave the order purely out of precaution!" His placid façade broke and the Cobras smirked.

Renwick's smirk became a wicked smile and he took a step forward. He pressed his hand to Harrison's chest and retracted it. The Officer glanced down at his shirt, which was growing redder by the second. "This, too, is precautionary. Come, Callahan; our work is done here." He stated as Harrison doubled over and cried out in pain. He tumbled to the floor and was dead before he hit the ground, blood spurting from a hole in his heart.


	7. Freedom in Reach

**A/N: Sorry if this seems to be going slow, I know I have like two years to span before Jason gets his ass out of Denver, so that's why I'm planning to do a sort of seasonal timeline like that used in The Last of Us. Right now it's still summer. Enjoy!**

As Harrison fell to the floor, time seemed to slow down. As laid back as Squad 25 seemed, Riley remembered that most of them had been soldiers for at least a couple of years. They were trained killers, and she could just stand in place, frozen, as she watched the life fade out of Harrison's eyes and Renwick extracting the blade from his heart.

Across the room, Caleb already had his gun Callie in his hands, pointing the barrel at the two Cobras. The boys grabbed their own rifles and surrounded the enemy, leaving them no chance of escape. Jason sat as still as Riley at the table, a horrified look on his face at witnessing death first-hand.

The woman behind the desk that Harrison had been talking to immediately reached for the walkie-talkie on her belt, speaking hurried words into the device. Probably for reinforcements, Riley presumed as she tried to get her brain to function. They were all in danger now. The Cobras could try anything, and have tried many things, to get out sticky situations. Surely a group of what could only be described as child soldiers wouldn't be too hard to handle.

"Put your hands up and don't try anything funny!" George demanded loudly, jarring Riley out of her reverie. She glanced behind her to find Myriam and Christine had disappeared from their hiding spot behind the couch. Scanning the room, she breathed a sigh of relief to find them part of the circle enclosing the two assassins. They wore fierce expressions, each brandishing a pistol pointed threateningly at the Cobras.

Although Riley had her gun strapped across her shoulder, she felt completely useless. She just saw a trained killing machine murder the leader of her Squad for nothing more than a little squabble five nights before. She wondered if all Cobras solved their problems this way, by simply silencing the people who annoyed them.

Callahan mirrored his partner's pleasantly wicked smile. "Please, let us explain." He remained unperturbed by the dozen or so barrels of guns pointed at him. When he determined George wasn't going to shoot him where he stood he resumed, "We have been hunting your Officer for weeks. He had not only injured our comrade five nights ago, but had also staged attacks on the Cobras numerous times. He was a nuisance that needed to be dealt with."

The quiet and reserved Daniel spoke up, narrowing his eyes as he cocked his rifle. "I thought we were all on the same side here. Military personnel don't just go staging attacks on other military personnel. You just came in here and killed our Officer! Don't expect us to just stand here and not shoot you where your arrogant asses stand!" His voice rose to a furious yell, partially mixed with grief.

"That is true, young man, but what you don't know is what goes on beneath the carefully constructed façade the military has worked so hard to keep up. We," Renwick gestured to himself and Callahan, "are part of the military you think is working in perfect harmony, but the Cobras are as much an organization of their own as the Freemasons from ages ago. We have our roots in the military, yes, but that does not mean we don't have our differences with the army."

Jason seemed to unfreeze from his spot at the table, grabbing his rifle at joining the circle. "Don't give me that bullshit! We know the army is just a bunch of assholes trying to maintain order through fear and violence! Citizens hate the military just as much as the military hates itself! Marshal Law is the only way to keep this goddamned place from succumbing to chaos!" He spat, and Renwick smiled wider.

The Cobra chuckled dryly, his shadowed face turning in Jason's direction. Riley felt her blood run cold. "Smart boy…you would make a prime candidate for our cause. Perhaps what we have in common is to rebuild what once was. It wasn't always like this, Marshal Law, Quarantine Zones, and rampant starvation. The military seeks to maintain order with an iron fist, while we look to maintain order through the revival of democracy." Callahan explained, also turning to face Jason. The boy's eyes were wide as dinner plates, fear coursing through his body at having two assassins focused on him at once. He wanted nothing more than to run, but running might cause the snakes to strike.

George spat in the direction of Renwick and his companion, expressing his disdain. "If you want to restore democracy, you have a funny way of doing it. Democracy is dead, and you're forgetting the real threat." He took a shaky hand away from his rifle and pointed it behind him. "The threat is out there, not among us! There's all kinds of Infected trying to bring down the only save haven available for miles around, and you're trying to restore _democracy_? Get real!"

"We agree with you." Renwick frowned condescendingly at George, who was taken aback by the Cobra's compliance. "We also agree that the military has too much power, or in other words, rules with an iron fist. Proper leadership should be restored. We would like to live free of fear as much as you or your friends, but we cannot do that if our numbers are constantly dwindling due to people such as Harrison." The man glanced behind him at the bloody corpse of the Officer, smirking a little.

George and the other members of Squad 25 shared looks with one another, silently debating whether the man spoke true or not, and whether or not they should shoot. Daniel was about to give an order when the thundering of numerous feet and the clicking of guns being cocked filled the room. Riley stared as a group of about 30 armed, adult soldiers trained their guns on the Cobras.

"Stand down; you're under arrest for first-degree murder of Officer Vincent Harrison!" One of the soldiers stated calmly, obviously the commander of the group. They were all wearing regulatory army uniforms, and it was hard to distinguish who had spoken from the mass of green and brown.

Renwick clucked in mock-disappointment. "We'd love to stay and chat, but we have other matters to attend to. Let's show ourselves out, shall we Callahan?" He said politely, reaching around to grab something from the weapons belt on his waist. Before anyone could stop the two, smoke filled the room and Jason shielded his eyes, coughing as he got a mouthful of the stale-smelling gas. He briefly heard the command of a soldier to fire before someone yanked his sleeve, forcing him to the ground.

Riley cursed the stupidity of the army as the rat-tat-tat of machine guns pierced the smoke-filled room. She dove behind the couch as she heard someone near her cry out in pain. Too scared to move in the nearly zero-visibility room, she remained hidden until the smoke dissipated, revealing the carnage that the soldiers had wrought upon the lobby.

George was clutching his shoulder, gasping in pain as Myriam crawled over to him. Blood was pouring from the wound, staining his jacket and everything it came into contact with red. Riley looked away, scanning frantically instead for Jason. Worry overcame her senses until she felt relief as she saw him pinned down by Daniel. They both seemed to be unhurt.

Gagging on the stench of blood, Riley quickly scampered over to him, hopping over other members who were trying to recover from the unintentional friendly fire. In the confusion, the two Cobras seemed to have disappeared into thin air. They left no trace except for the awful corpse of Harrison, staring blankly up at the hole-riddled ceiling. The dark-skinned boy crept over to the body, closing the man's eyes out of respect.

Realizing their targets had escaped, the reinforcements left the lobby to pursue their pray, shouting orders to each other. Riley swore to herself at the insensitivity of the soldiers. They had just shot some of their own comrades and didn't bother to leave anyone behind to help clean up the mess? "Bastards…" The blonde hissed as she sat on her knees, nudging Jason, who still wasn't getting up, with the butt of her rifle.

The dark-haired boy groaned, rubbing his head. "I appreciate the help, Daniel, but next time you want to smash my head into the floor, can you at least warn me?"

Daniel smiled sheepishly at his new friend, readjusting his military jacket. "Sorry about that…Oh fuck, they got George and Xavier!" He partially wailed, running over to first check on the sandy-haired boy and then to a red-haired kid Riley recognized as the boy who was one of the new recruits. She bit her lip as others gathered around him, but the blood streaming from a hole in his head told her he wasn't going to get up ever again. It was him she had heard yelp before being silenced forever.

The blonde turned as she felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. It was Jason, looking uncharacteristically speechless. The concern in his eyes told Riley all she needed to know. She placed her hand over his, holding it in her own. "I'm alright, thanks for asking." She smiled reassuringly and he nodded once, glancing down at their hands before retracting his. Pink tinged his cheeks as he busied himself with checking on other members.

"How could they do this? Shoot blindly into a cloud of smoke hoping for the minute chance that they kill their target?" Jason finally found his voice as he stepped over to George, who was looking pale but alert.

"That's the genius that is a man with a gun: shoot first, ask questions later." Riley huffed, wanting to focus on anything but the dead body of the red-haired boy. Fortunately, the two boys seemed to be the only casualties. Myriam and her sister appeared to have George's wound under control, taking turns to press clean wads of fabric to it to stop the bleeding. He was going to be okay, but she saw a few members shedding tears as Daniel draped a torn piece of curtain from the smashed-in window over the red-head's lifeless body. He said a few words which Riley couldn't make out and the small group left the body behind. The same was done for Harrison, but it was by the soldier behind the desk's hand.

Daniel called everyone who wasn't preoccupied over to Harrison's corpse, and they all stood around looking miserable as the brown-haired boy recited a simple prayer. "He was a great Officer, and we were all proud to serve under him, brief as his life was. May God allow him to rest in peace. Amen." He said solemnly, and the rest of the group repeated his last word in unison.

Riley was never one for believing in something higher than her, for there never seemed to anything worth believing in. If there was, whatever supposedly guided her from up above didn't seem to give a shit about the world anymore.

The soldier behind the desk spoke into her walkie-talkie again and a few minutes later a small group of four soldiers came to take the bodies away. Young as he was, Daniel seemed to take on a leadership role whenever George couldn't. He had an authority about him that even Riley respected, brief as their introduction was. Jason kept shooting the blonde covert glances, but what he was constantly checking on her for, she didn't know. She had already told him she was alright, but he didn't seem to have believed her. Unfortunately, the injuries were in her mind, not on her body. Being caught in the cross-fire like that had shaken her to the core; being shot at had made her appreciate how lucky she was that she hadn't ended up like Xavier.

"What are we going to do now? We have no Officer to get orders from." Harry stated the obvious as he watched Xavier and Harrison's bodies being taken away.

The soldier behind the desk cleared her throat and smiled. Riley noticed nothing remarkable about the woman; she wore the same uniform as everyone else and had black hair accompanied with green eyes. "I'll be glad to fill in for Officer Harrison. You may call me Sergeant Brookes. Now, tell me about the duties of your Squad." Her voice was a sharp alto, but not unkind. It was a nice change from Wright and Rowland's barked commands.

George sat up with a groan, assisted by his girlfriend. He turned to Sgt. Brookes with a weak, grateful smile. "We appreciate your offer, Sgt. I'm surprised that you don't know our routine by heart, seeing as we're here practically every day."

"Yes, you're in here every day roughhousing and destroying my lobby." Sgt. Brookes motioned to the smashed windows and the carnage that was the now hole-riddled furniture. She seemed like more of a barmaid than a lower-ranking soldier.

Other members of Squad 25 snickered at Brookes' retort, and George winced as he chuckled a little, himself. "You know what I mean, ma'am. We patrol Sector Alpha and Bravo from 16:00 to 18:00, and then meet up with Squad 14 at 18:45 to plant mines in Sector Charlie to get rid of Infected. Then we pair up and take turns watching the wall along Sector Alpha until 22:00, ma'am."

"I see. Do you patrol as one group or do you separate yourselves to cover more ground? It seems you know your routine well enough to do it without anyone overseeing you, but protocol states that all soldiers under eighteen must be supervised by a soldier or police personnel of rank Officer or higher. That means pretty much everyone except Privates." Sgt. Brookes smiled again, showing her impossibly white teeth.

Not only did Riley have no idea what Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie meant, she also wasn't familiar with police rankings or military titles. It was all just a jumble of jargon to her, and she was relieved to notice the confused look on Jason's face as well. This time Daniel answered because he saw that talking was putting too much strain on George. His supposed shyness went out the window when he took over for his friend. "We patrol in groups of three or four, but we're always in sight of each other." He answered confidently whilst doing a quick headcount. With George out of commission, Myriam tending to him, and Xavier dead, that left twelve in all. It would work out.

"So if we start shifts at 4:00 p.m, and now it's-" The dark-skinned boy Riley now remembered as being named Alexander, began, but Sgt. Brookes put up a hand to stop him.

"That's 16:00, Cadet. We use 24-hour time in the military." Brookes politely reminded the boy, and then motioned for him to continue.

"Yes, ma'am. As I was saying, it's not even noon now. If we start at 16:00, what are we going to do until then?" Alexander queried, cocking his head a little.

Jason realized the boy was right. It was Sunday, and he also figured that they didn't have weekends off. His shoulders dropped at the thought, having to do patrols seven days a week. Did they ever get a break?

Sgt. Brookes shrugged, pulling out a logbook and writing information down in it. "Whatever you want, Cadet. I don't care as long as you don't cause any trouble and you get your ass here by 16:00 sharp." She said casually, flipping through the leather-bound logbook. It was a massive thing, three times the size of any book Riley had ever seen, and twice as creased. She wondered why anyone needed a book that big.

The girl was brought out of her ponderings as she caught the fiery redness of Christine's hair becoming more intense, which meant she was coming closer. Christine tried to smile, but failed due to the shock and stress of the last fifteen minutes. She motioned Riley over to the bullet-riddled couch, and the pair sat down.

"Freaky stuff, huh? One minute you're ready to shoot and the next you're getting shot at. I'm not surprised they recruit kids like us so often." The redhead sighed, surveying what was left of her Squad. Her twin was still tending to her boyfriend, who looked much better now that the bleeding had stopped. Riley wondered why the boy didn't go immediately to the health clinic, but then realized he probably couldn't afford it. Not everyone had ration cards or money to spare.

"If you came just to talk to me about how sad it is that the military has resorted to recruiting child soldiers, I don't want to hear it." The blonde snapped, crossing her arms moodily. She was steadily reverting back to her normal self, sarcasm and all.

Christine waved her hands to signify that wasn't what she wanted to talk about. "No, no, I'm sorry. I don't want to make you feel worse than you already do, sorry!" She apologized, her tone sincere. "I wanted to ask about you and Jason. Are you two like-?" Christine stopped as Riley clapped a hand to her mouth.

"Don't say it." The younger girl growled, giving her friend a warning look.

Christine smiled from underneath Riley's hand, one that was reminiscent of Renwick's wicked grin. She pried Riley's hand from her mouth and quickly finished, "Dating?" She giggled as Riley groaned in frustration, holding her head in her hands.

"What could _possibly _make you think that Jason and I are dating? Is there anything else that you talk about besides guys?" Riley wondered aloud, throwing her hands up for emphasis. She had lost count how many times someone either asked her or Jason if they were dating. She felt like she might as well say yes for all the presumptions everyone already had.

The redhead huffed indignantly, crossing her own arms. "Well, _someone's_ touchy. I just happened to look over at the guys' table before those Cobras interrupted everything. While you were flirting with Caleb, Jason looked as if he were ready to kill the guy. That's why he lost to Daniel. Oh, and I know ten different ways to kill a Clicker, if you ever want tips on dealing with the nasty things." She stated matter-of-factly, as if she were relaying information of the utmost importance.

Riley sniggered, confusing Christine. Her expression faltered and she furrowed her brow, clearly not expecting that sort of reaction. "I thought you'd be happy to know. If a guy is jealous, it means he likes you. Don't you want him to like you? If I didn't have Harry, I'd be flirting with him just like Nadia is right now." She smiled deviously, turning Riley around by her shoulders. The blonde briefly wondered why Christine knew her comrades' names better than she did. The girl stopped laughing and clenched her jaw at the scene in front of her.

Jason and Nadia, the brunette girl that had been inducted into Squad 25 this morning, stood in the shadows between two windows and were obviously flirting with each other. Nadia was talking while twirling her hair, which had somehow come out of her regulatory bun…on purpose. Jason had that infuriatingly charming smirk on his face which Riley had come to associate over the past week with both trouble and putting on a display to seem attractive. It wasn't the first time she had seen them flirting, either. During the week at training camp he would more often than not be seen chatting up some female cadet when he wasn't with Riley. _"It's not like he needs to try to be attractive…" _She thought, and then caught herself. Since when did she start associating the word "attractive" with Jason?

Riley came back to reality as Christine gave her a gentle shove, prompting her to go over there and drive the other girl away. It wasn't like she needed encouragement, what with her annoyance turning to anger as the distance between her and the pair became less and less. Honestly, if she thought about it, the blonde had no idea where this anger was coming from. It had never bothered her before that Jason was flirting with another girl, but now that Christine had blatantly pointed it out, it made her wonder why he never treated her like that. Part of her also wondered if she even wanted to be treated like that.

Jason gave Riley a nod of acknowledgment as she came up to him and Nadia, and then resumed his conversation with the brunette. When Riley didn't leave, the boy gave her a more pointed glance, silently telling her that now wasn't the best time to talk. Finally realizing that the blonde wasn't going to go away, he excused himself and motioned for her to sit at a nearby table. Trying to be as polite as possible, but still managing to get his irritation at her interruption across, he asked, "What could you possibly want to tell me that could be more important than me talking to a hot girl?"

Riley smirked, deciding to play around with the boy first. He asked for it, after all. "Oh, there are _many _more important things that could surpass your conversation with sweet, sexy Nadia over there." She waved her fingers at the brunette, who looked none too pleased that her flirting session with Jason had been cut short. "I could tell you that the barn is burning down as we speak, or that I'm pregnant, or that-" She stopped as the dark-haired boy laced his fingers together, letting out an impatient grunt. That meant that he was one step away from getting up and leaving.

"I get it. Uhh…those things aren't true, right?" Jason questioned, glancing up at Riley from under his eyelashes. That was just another one of his many quirks that made Riley want to reach across the table and ruffle his hair like a puppy's, just to reassure him that she was joking. He always did that when he was worried and she found it absolutely adorable.

"I'm being sarcastic, dumbass." The blonde leaned in and stage-whispered, causing Jason to make an irritated groan again.

The boy ran a hand through his hair, glancing back to see if Nadia was still waiting for him. She was, and Jason held a finger up to tell her he would just be another minute. He was glaring at Riley now, threatening her with his eyes to tell him what she wanted now, or he would go back to Nadia in the next five seconds.

Noticing the dark-haired boy was serious, Riley cut to the chase. "Okay, what you see in that girl Nadia? You know she flirts with every guy at training camp just as much as you do with every girl."

Jason raised an eyebrow, obviously impressed that she was that observant and a little disturbed that she cared enough to pose the question. "I don't remember you telling me who I could and couldn't flirt with, Ms. Sarcasm. Frankly, I don't even know why you care. Aren't you too busy flirting with Caleb?" He stated sourly, unlacing his fingers and crossing his arms over his chest.

Riley narrowed her eyes at the boy, insulted that he would stoop so low as to bash her love life, which didn't even really exist. However, she tried to play it as cool as possible. As Jason had implied, she shouldn't care. "I'm not flirting with him; he's too busy wooing his rifle, Callie. And as for Nadia, you could do better than that." _'Namely me' _she added, but pushed the thought out of her head.

The boy sighed and pushed himself away from the table. The chair screeched as it scraped against the marble floor, signaling with finality that Jason was leaving. "Look, nobody asked you to be my matchmaker. We're friends, and if we can't accept each other's decisions about who the other dates, I think that's bordering on possessiveness. I don't want a friend that calls me out on every aspect of my life. Nice talking to you, Riley." Jason gave his friend a strained smile and proceeded to make his way back to Nadia, resuming his conversation as if Riley had never interrupted.

The blonde sat pathetically alone at the table, shocked that he had managed to get the upper hand. Usually it was her that left him speechless, not able to argue a defense. She glanced at the pair and Nadia waggled her fingers at the blonde, flashing a victorious smirk at her. Riley gave the other girl the finger, stalking back over to where Christine was waiting. She sat heavily on the couch, letting out an exasperated sigh.

The redhead padded her friend's shoulder consolingly. "Sorry it didn't work out. If it makes you feel any better, girls like Nadia get dumped a lot faster than most. All they have is looks, and looks don't keep a guy interested for long if there isn't a personality to match. Guys like a challenge and Nadia's no challenge." She advised sympathetically.

Riley thought about her words for a moment. "You, my friend, are a very wise woman. If there were such a thing as a relationship coach, you would be the perfect one." She commented, giving the girl a sincere smile. Christine returned it, happy to be complimented like that.

"Thanks! I know you'd give any guy a run for their money. Just you wait; Jason will come crawling back to you when he realizes Nadia isn't good enough for him." Christine guaranteed, and then grabbed Riley's hand. "Hey, let's kill some time throwing bricks at Infected." She offered as she pulled the blonde up.

Riley stumbled, caught off guard by the potentially insane activity. "Are you crazy? They'll eat us alive!" She gazed wide-eyed at the redhead, genuinely concerned about her mental health.

Christine giggled, grabbing her helmet and towing Riley along behind her. "Not when we're 30 feet up on the wall! C'mon, we do this all the time! We get a real nice view of the city, too. Or, you know, what's left of it."

Rolling her eyes, the blonde reluctantly followed her friend out into the blazing heat. She instantly missed the coolness that the partially caved-in ceiling of the lobby had provided. Her brow was covered in sweat within seconds and it was already unbearable in the heavy fabric of her uniform. She and Christine walked toward the wall and Riley found herself getting more and more anxious. She had never been this close to the edge of the city before, and had certainly never seen much of what was on the other side of the wall.

The pair eventually came to a staircase guarded by a soldier. The blonde wanted to turn tail and run to avoid getting caught, but the man smiled at Christine and had the same red hair. He looked about twenty, with the same green eyes and curls that protruded from under his helmet. "That's my brother, Thomas. He's cool, don't worry." The older girl reassured her friend, catching her wary expression.

Thomas covertly glanced around to make sure nobody was looking before opening the door and ushering his sister and Riley through. Christine gave her brother a smile as she led Riley up the cramped stairwell that seemed to be built inside the wall. It was slightly damp, but provided a nice reprieve from the baking heat. Their footsteps echoed against the walls as they trudged up the stairwell, amplified by the claustrophobic concrete. At last the pair reached the top and Christine heaved open the heavy door that led outside. They climbed the few steps that led to the platform that was the top of the covered watchtower.

The panoramic view of Denver was spectacular up there. From up on this tower, Riley had a 360 degree view of the land beyond the wall. The overgrown plants and ivy creeping up the buildings beyond the wall made them look more like giant trees than skyscrapers. Unfortunately most of Denver's skyscrapers were located outside the city, as they were infested with Infected and too costly to keep in good enough condition. Riley gazed at the buildings below, all vibrant shades of green where nature had begun to take over once more. Pavement that once made up highways was completely missing in some places, and in others it was folded up like an accordion due to the frequent bombings to cull Infected.

Directly below her there was a 30 foot drop as Christine had informed her, but there was also what was left of some houses and an overflowed sewage system. Parts of the once underground system had been exposed due to years of neglect and poor maintenance, causing the storm water to overflow and create numerous small ponds. The sewage inside the city still worked, but it all flowed out to here.

"It's beautiful...and so sad. This must have been a really pretty city before the outbreak." Riley breathed, staring at the tall buildings. She spotted a few dots of water in the distance to the South. "There are quite a few lakes around here, aren't there?" She observed, squinting to see the bodies of water glinting in the noonday sun.

Christine shrugged. "Yeah, we have some lakes, but most of our electricity comes from hydroelectric dams like the one at the Cherry Creek Reservoir. It's always nice to see the Rocky Mountains to the West, though. I hear they're much prettier up north, but I've never been as far as this. My brother was born the same year as when the outbreak started, but he doesn't remember anything about the pre-Infection world because he was so little. They just herded anyone who wasn't infected into QZ's like this one." The normally chipper girl sighed, longing for what once was. Riley didn't mind being stuck inside a QZ if it meant being protected from Clickers, Bloaters, and Runners.

Riley surveyed the remnants of Denver, imagining the skyscrapers as they once were, standing straight and tall in the sunlight instead of leaning and missing sections altogether. Not to mention overgrown with plant life. "Have you ever tried to run away on one of your patrols? You do them outside the city, right?"

Christine gave her a sad look, shaking her head. "You'd think it would be that easy, to just slip away unnoticed into the land beyond? There are other patrols, not mention the obvious threat of Clickers around every corner. I'm good being safe inside the wall, thanks. Being outside isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's really dangerous out there, and I wasn't kidding when I said you never know when you might get bit by a Clicker." She said without any mirth, gazing at the distant mountains, so close yet so far.

"You want to test that theory?" A familiar voice asked, making both girls spin around in surprise. Jason and Nadia stood by the wall against the stairwell, making Riley's blood boil at the sight of both of them; she wasn't sure which one she hated more.

"What do you mean? We can't exactly go out there, it's not our shift. They won't let us through." The redhead stated, referring to the guards that were stationed at the gate below. That was the only entrance into and outside the city in this district.

Jason chuckled, pulling Nadia closer to him. Riley wanted to wipe that smirk off his face with a well-deserved right hook, but decided against emasculating the boy in front of her and two other girls. "I didn't say we were going now. I just came to tell you about my plan to take a proper tour of Denver for a while."

"And get torn to shreds by Clickers before you even go north enough reach the central business district? Where did this completely stupid plan of yours come from, again?" Christine asked, crossing her arms to look intimidating. It wasn't difficult; she was almost as tall as Jason, which was a feat in itself.

"I want to see the world for what it really is, not what they tell us is there. There has to be more to life than just living in fear of the military and Infected. The world may be suffering an apocalypse, but that doesn't mean that everything is just Clickers, Bloaters, and Runners." Jason explained, taking in the sorrowful beauty of post-apocalyptic Denver.

Riley chuckled dryly. "That's real poetic, Jason. You're forgetting bandits, cannibals, wild animals, the fact that we don't know shit about survival, and oh let's see...basically being at the mercy of Mother Nature every second of every day. There's nothing but miles and miles of deserted neighbourhoods out there, and beyond that, desert for miles more. Why the fuck would you want to leave, knowing what's out there?"

Jason glared at the blonde, his jaw working as he tried to find the words. "I didn't say I was leaving forever. I've still got my parents here, but I'd be back once I got my fair share of freedom. Remember when I took you up to the roof last week? I go up there every day, planning and dreaming of what lies beyond the wall and how to get to it. Now I've got my chance. Are you with me or not?" He stated, all business. His eyes held a challenge, daring her to refuse. Riley was competitive, but she wasn't stupid.

"No. You can go get yourself killed, but I won't play along with your dumbass plan." Riley replied, leering at him with the same intensity. Christine nodded in agreement, and Jason shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Nadia and Harry are going with me, though." The dark-haired boy said simply.

Christine's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. "_Harry _said he was going with you? I thought he was smarter than this...I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!" The girl stormed out of the cramped space and down the stairs.

"Oh, and you left your pack down at the lobby, Riley. I thought I'd bring it up since I don't fully trust Brookes or everyone in Squad 25 yet. There's something I wanted to talk to you about. Nadia, can you go make sure Christine doesn't tear her boyfriend limb from limb? I'd like to talk to Riley in private." Jason smiled at the brunette, and she kissed his cheek in confirmation. She shot a smirk at Riley and the girl returned it with a deadly glare. The blonde found that she did a lot of glaring these days, and she was afraid her face would eventually become stuck that way.

Once Nadia was gone, Jason tossed the pack to Riley who expertly caught it. "Got to first base already, huh? How long is it going to be before you're wondering if _she's_ pregnant?" The girl asked bitterly.

Jason gave her a half-hearted smirk, but didn't answer. What he retrieved from his back pocket made her want to throw herself off the edge of the watchtower out of embarrassment, however. He had pulled out the form bearing Riley's father's signature allowing her to get a dorm room and into the Military Boarding School. The blonde cursed herself for being so careless with her belongings.

Instead of covering herself up, Riley yelled accusingly, "You looked through my stuff?! I can't believe you would do that!"

Taken aback for a second, Jason merely stared blankly at her before regaining his composure. "I didn't look through your stuff, I'd never do that. It just fell out while I was picking it up and I happened to read it." He said bluntly, handing the form to her. The girl snatched it out of his hand and stuffed it in her bag.

"I don't know who signed that form, but I don't really care. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think it was necessary..." Jason chewed his lip; rarely was he scrambling for words like this. "My dad...he got laid off. A soldier came and told me while you were off with Christine. He broke his arm while dealing with one of the steers and they said a man with only one useful arm is no good to them, so...You should go before our shift starts and get a spot while they're still taking students. School starts in a couple of weeks..." The boy trailed off, feeling the blonde had gotten the point.

Riley nodded solemnly, shouldering her backpack. As angry as she was with him for blowing her off earlier, she felt a twinge of pity for him. Shane was the only one providing food for the whole family. "What are you going to do?" She asked quietly.

The dark-haired boy chuckled without mirth, scuffing the heel of his boot against the concrete. "I guess...I'm going to have to get another job. Quit school, get a day job, and then get paid with ration cards here. They gave us some meat, but it'll only last a couple of weeks. Please understand that I don't want to do this to you, Riley, but now that I see you have some place to go, it makes me feel better about the whole thing." He had a pleading look in his eye which only increased Riley's pity for him. The poor boy didn't deserve to have to live off ration cards, but at least he now knew what everybody else had to go through.

"You can't quit school, Jason. I'll give you my ration cards; they feed you at the school, right? I wouldn't need them." Riley offered hastily, wanting to see him as anything other than his dejected, pathetic self right now.

The boy glanced up at her with a hopeful spark in his eye, but it immediately dimmed. "You don't need to do that, Riley. This isn't your problem. Plus, it's not like the school will help me with anything. All that's available here is just the military, manual labor, drugs, or smuggling. I've already tried two of those things." He gave a short bark of laughter, almost pitying himself. "I appreciate it, but I can handle this by myself."

Riley gave him a quizzical look. "How? By abandoning your parents for God knows how long? You could get yourself killed, we've been over this! You're just leaving when your parents need you the most?"

Jason bit his lip again, squeezing his eyes shut at the anger in her voice. "I know it sounds stupid, but I really just need to get away for a while. I'll be fine...and if I'm not, well...you can give your ration cards to my parents and they can always get more. It would be easier on them with one less mouth to feed, right?" He tried to smile, but failed miserably. He looked closer to crying than anything else.

Riley suddenly understood why he was planning this little "adventure". He had stopped caring, and the only thing that kept him from leaving for good was his parents. But it was something else, too. "You want to go hunting." She stated.

That spark of life had returned to Jason's brown eyes, and he gave her a sincere smile. "Now do you know why the others agreed to go with me? I have a reason for this potentially suicidal mission, and they can get food themselves. Have you changed your mind?"

Riley smiled at the boy, stepping up to him and gently wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. Caught off guard by the sudden contact, Jason tensed for a minute, but then slowly relaxed. He gingerly embraced the blonde as well, and for a moment the world didn't seem like it was crashing down around him any more than it already was. "I take that as a yes." The boy awkwardly chuckled, tightening his arms around the girl. It had never felt so good to know that someone cared through something as simple as a hug.

"You know, you could have just told us you were going on a hunting trip instead of beating around the bush like that." The blonde murmured, not ready to let go just yet. It was too comfortable letting her head lie in the crook of Jason's neck.

The dark-haired boy chuckled, the sound reverberating through his chest. "I wasn't beating around the bush; I actually do want to see what's left of civilization out there." He reluctantly released the girl, blushing again.

"I wouldn't mind going on an educational tour of Denver, then. Do you even know how to hunt or track?" The blonde cocked her head, already knowing the answer.

"Nope," Jason shrugged, "I do know how to butcher cows and pigs, though. C'mon, I'll help you get set up at school." He offered, casually laying an arm across Riley's shoulder. She giggled in reply, descending the stairwell with him.

"You know, I think I've formed my opinion of whether or not you're a jackass." The blonde began.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "And what conclusion did you come to?"

"You're still a jackass, but I like you anyway." Riley smirked, and Jason affectionately ruffled her hair in reply.


	8. Alone and Afraid

"So…what exactly is the plan again?" Riley asked as she, Jason, and the rest of Squad 25 marched through the gates leading to the outside.

Jason didn't answer, merely staring out at the caved-in concrete that made up the landscape directly outside the wall. There were a few charred, skeletal remains of houses here and there, but any small buildings were blown up long ago by bombing raids.

The blonde elbowed her friend, repeating herself in a more forceful voice. Jason shrugged, readjusting the strap of his rifle. "I will tell you when I come up with one, how's that sound?"

Riley blew out a puff of air, making a popping sound. "It sounds stupid. Remind me why I agreed to go with you, again?" The girl was seriously doubting her decision now. However, Jason was her best friend and she felt an obligation to make sure he didn't do anything unusually moronic.

The dark-haired boy tapped his chin, furrowing his brow in mock-contemplation. "Let's see…You're hopelessly in love with me and you'd follow me to the ends of the earth, no matter how dangerous the journey would be." He said teasingly, and laughed as Riley shoved him.

"You're so full of it; you can't love anybody but yourself." The blonde muttered, checking her rifle for bullets. The cartridge she was carrying in her breast pocket was half-full, and her rifle could only shoot two bullets at a time. Between the four of them, ammunition wouldn't be a problem for a few days exploring the city…if they could even get that far without being caught or killed.

Riley had to admit, there wasn't as much to Denver as she had first thought. The novelty of being outside the wall had quickly worn off once she had processed the fact that there was little to nothing left of Denver that hadn't been destroyed by bombs or just so neglected that it wasn't safe to go near anymore. The skyscrapers in the distance didn't look too friendly, come to think of it. The way they leaned didn't seem inviting.

The girl was brought out of her thoughts by bumping nose-first into the back of the cadet in front of her, who happened to be Christine. She glanced over her shoulder and threw the blonde an annoyed look. Mouthing her apology, Riley glanced to see why they had stopped. Sgt. Brookes was dividing them into groups for patrol. Jason, Riley, Nadia, and Harry made sure that they were lined up together so that they would end up being in the same group. Fortunately the plan worked and Sgt. Brookes gave them their patrol route in the form of a map.

"We switch routes with each other every fifteen minutes. Remember that we patrol Sector Alpha for an hour, and then Sector Bravo for another hour, and then we meet up with Squad 14 and set up mines in Sector Charlie while we take turns on the towers. Don't think about running away. If the other patrols catch you, they won't be very nice and neither will any Clicker or Runner out there greet you with mercy. I give you permission to shoot anything you find suspicious. Am I clear, cadets?" Brookes spoke briskly, and a resounding 'yes ma'am' was her answer. The groups, which she now referred to as fire teams, spread out to begin their patrols.

Jason, Riley, Nadia, and Harry set off down a rubble-strewn street that used to be part of a neighbourhood, but was now nothing more than exposed sewer, concrete, and house foundations. Riley turned and glanced at the wall as she walked. It was very different being on the other side, but she felt a sense of vulnerability and unease at being outside the city. She noticed something odd about the concrete sewers, however.

"If everything spills out here, wouldn't people be using the sewers to escape from Denver?" The blonde queried, eyeing the gaping, black mouth of a sewer tunnel that seemed to emerge from under the wall.

Harry furrowed his brow at her comment. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were tunnels leading out of the city, but I doubt anyone's desperate and stupid enough to use them…who knows what condition they're in? Plus, what would be out here that anybody would want?" He replied, glancing around at the rumble lining the ruined street.

Jason chuckled at the boy's words, drawing attention to himself. "That's exactly what we aim to find out, my friend. You'd be surprised at what people left behind when being penned up in Quarantine Zones. It's a gold mine out there, all ours for the taking!"

"Yeah, if bandits and Infected haven't stolen or destroyed it yet…" Nadia added, seeming doubtful herself about the expedition. Riley was pleased to find that she had coiled her hair into a bun again, meaning that she had stopped flirting with Jason for the time being.

"You'll never know unless you go out there and check yourself, now will you? I say we quit when we're going over to patrol Sector Bravo. What do you guys think?" The dark-haired boy suggested, shooting Riley a challenging glare that dared her to deny that he had a plan.

Harry thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons. He finally made a decision saying, "We'll be leaving while the sun's still up, so I guess we'll be able to get a couple of hours of exploration in, but we'll be taking a huge risk by booking it while we're able to be seen."

"We'll just have to be extra careful, then. Hey, we turn left here." Nadia said, tapping the map Sgt. Brookes gave her. The four of them continued walking down their new route, which wasn't much different than the last. With the escape part of their plan ironed out, the group fell silent and focused on watching the skeletons of houses for any suspicious activity.

As Brookes had ordered, they switched with other fire teams that were Squad 25 until their hour was up. They hadn't got much further than the escape stage, as none of them knew what to expect after they had outrun the other Squads. Harry and Nadia had a better idea than Jason and Riley, so the pair asked them about dealing with Infected. Neither one had really dealt with one face-to-face, but had heard enough stories to last a lifetime.

"You just have to shoot them before they get to you, really. If they do, you either punch them out or whack them with whatever's lying around. There's always a loose brick or piece of hardwood to use. I favour a good hunting knife, but there aren't too many of those anymore. At least none that I can get my hands on, anyway." Nadia explained, glad to be sounding superior to Riley in front of Jason. That was the way it sounded to the blonde's ears, in any case.

Riley and Jason fell silent, imagining what it would be like to stab a Clicker. They've heard many stories about the infamous, terrible creature, but had never had the displeasure of meeting one. They had a good idea of what they sounded and looked like, but were also warned that they were relentless, fast things that had exceptionally good hearing. Riley shivered in the afternoon sun, trying not to think of what would happen if they ran into Infected.

All too soon, it was time to switch over to Sector Bravo. Riley's back ached from standing upright and walking for so long, but she sucked it up and kept an eye on Sgt. Brookes. The woman had her back turned, and by this time everyone in Squad 25 knew of their plan to make a break for it. They were sworn to secrecy, however, and Jason hoped that nobody would spill the beans when they were gone, instead making a distraction so that they could escape.

"I'm surprised that everyone is so okay with this suicide expedition…" Nadia commented as they watched Christine slip away to make a distraction. Even the redhead got over her initial anger at Harry for going, and decided to help them out. Once she gave the signal, Jason and the others would make a run for it. What that signal would be, the group had no idea, but Christine would reassure them they would know.

After a few tense minutes of walking with the rest of the Squad, the group of four heard a blood-curdling scream resound from an alley far behind them. Riley immediately wanted to turn back and help the poor girl who was making that awful noise, but then realized it was just for show. Jason smirked, "That's our cue…" He chuckled, mentally commending Christine for her performance. Now they had only seconds to run as far as they could before Sgt. Brookes discovered they were gone.

As the rest of the Squad ran to "aid" Christine, they gave the four encouraging pats on the back for good luck. Once Brookes was out of sight, the real work of getting out of the other patrols' sights had begun. Jason naturally took the lead, checking every intersection for other patrols, but they seemed to have heard Christine as well and abandoned their posts. The four ran across deserted streets, hopped over fissures in the concrete, and climbed the staircase-like chunks of pavement that had once been an overpass.

"Halt! State your business, cadets!" Jason froze midstride as a sniper from a concrete ledge above the group trained her sights on them. She wore body armour over her uniform, and looked a lot more intimidating because none of them could see her face beneath the orange visor attached to her helmet.

Riley's heart hammered in her throat, which had inexplicably gone dry. What were they to say to a sniper in whose territory they weren't supposed to be in? Jason, as always, had something up his sleeve. He smiled up at the sniper, trying to seem as charming and innocent as possible. "We were just running from Infected, ma'am. Nasty things, they're just a few blocks down. Didn't you hear that girl scream? Now if you'll excuse us, we don't want to get torn apart."

"I don't hear any Infected. Get back to your Squad before I decide to shoot you for trespassing." The sniper growled, cocking her rifle. Snipers were known for having short tempers, and were as lithe and territorial as mountain lions. Riley knew the woman wasn't kidding, and had to think fast. She picked up a small piece of rebar, about the length of her forearm, and threw it as hard as she could at the sniper's head. Unfortunately it missed, but the distraction was enough to continue running. The four sprinted away as fast as they could before the sniper could recover.

Their plan didn't work as well as they had hoped, because they had only gotten a few steps in before the woman opened fire. Riley heard Harry grunt in pain and threw him a worried glance, but the black-haired boy managed to keep running. His side was bleeding, and he seemed to be able to keep moving for the moment. Jason and Nadia, being the faster runners, began to pull away from Riley and Harry, and the blonde heard the sniper shout out hasty commands that involved shooting her and her friends at will.

All of a sudden, the seemingly empty street was alive with gunshots and snipers at every block, all shooting at them. The four had no choice but the keep running through the maelstrom, trying to move fast enough so that they wouldn't get shot. Riley's legs were burning and her head ached from all the noise and stress of staying alive. Harry looked like he was ready to drop, judging from his loss of speed and laboured breathing. The boy stumbled over a loose chunk of concrete and Riley stopped to help him, but soon realized it was hopeless because snipers were still shooting at them and he was already dead, his right side and thigh riddled with bullet holes.

The blonde chocked back an angry sob at the boy's premature death and blindly continued running. It was when she couldn't hear the shots of snipers anymore that she decided it was safe to stop. She skidded to a halt, dropping to her knees from exhaustion. The blonde gagged and spat, trying to catch her breath in her burning throat. She dragged herself to the wall of a nearby brick house, which was miraculously still standing, and realized that not only did she not hear the sound of gunshots, she heard nothing at all.

The streets around her were still and silent, except for the sound of her own breathing. Jason and Nadia were nowhere to be found.

She was completely and utterly alone.

Panic began to set in. How could she be so stupid as to get herself separated from them? Where were they now? Were they even alive? Riley retraced the last two minutes in her memory. When Harry had died, Jason and Nadia kept running forward, but which way was that? The blonde had been so frightened she had no idea which direction she had ran in. Confusion and disorientation made her head ache more, and she groaned as she rubbed her temples.

Riley glanced around, trying to get her bearings. It would be dark in a few hours, and she if she hadn't found Jason and Nadia by then, she would have to make camp somewhere safe until morning. She mentally cursed Jason for talking her into this trip. He was just so persuasive, so confident that everything would go well…and also the worst planner she had ever met.

"That stupid boy never thinks of what could go wrong, just what's in it for him and anyone else involved. If we had taken the time to scout the area and plan our route, maybe Harry wouldn't be dead and my chances of survival diminished by half." The blonde muttered to herself, scanning her surroundings. Her initial panic had turned to anger at Jason and fear of what could be lurking around the corner.

The two-story houses around her had seen better days, but a few were still standing. They were all varying colours of brick, some gray, others red, and a few were beige. Bombing raids had reduced most to rubble, but if she picked the right spot, she could make camp in a relatively cozy basement or upstairs room. The girl shrugged off her backpack and rifle, taking stock of her supplies. She had enough ammunition, a change of clothes, a lighter, and a flashlight. Unfortunately, she had finished the last of her meager dinner before the shift had started, but her water bottle was half-full. Riley took a gulp of water, quenching her parched throat and trying to conserve as much as possible.

The girl could see the wall of the Denver Quarantine Zone, but it looked at least a mile away. She wasn't too far, but judging by the silence around her, she was far enough to be out of range of any patrols. However, she had dove straight into the heart of Infected territory, and whatever else called these deserted streets home. With senses on high alert, Riley began walking in the direction opposite the Denver QZ, which she determined to be the most likely direction Jason and Nadia had gone in.

Fear clawed at Riley's heart with every step she took. She jumped at every sound, head whipping around to find the source each time. Even something as common as a bird taking flight or rat scurrying across her path sent her heart hammering. The sun was starting to set by the time the girl reached the base of a tall skyscraper, overgrown with ivy and other plant life. Riley didn't dare go in, and decided to spend the night in an abandoned café across the street. The store's front window was smashed, so she couldn't satiate to curiosity of what it was called before the outbreak. The blonde peeked around the doorframe, now void of a door.

Up until now, she hadn't run in to any Infected. She had seen Runners, off in the distance, staggering around and making those horrible wailing noises. She had always altered her course when that happened, and tried to stay as quiet as possible. The urge to call out Jason or Nadia's names was overwhelming sometimes, but she knew that if she tried, the Clickers would reply.

What the blonde did see in the café made her blood run cold. There was a Clicker sitting at one of the tables, waiting for the waitress that was never to come, or the companion that would never show. Maybe what was left of its human side still remembered dining at this café before the world went to hell, and it found comfort among the peeling floral wallpaper and moldy food displays? Riley likened the Clicker to a person with Alzheimer's, remembering only fragments of days gone by, and losing more of its humanity as time went on. She felt a bit of pity for the creature, but not enough to spare its life. This was her territory now.

Riley's heart pounded in her ears as she picked up an old, glass pop bottle from near her right foot. She aimed and chucked it at the wall near the Clicker, attempting to divert attention away from herself. As expected, the Clicker suddenly stood up and rushed over to the broken bottle, inspecting the glass. Seeing her chance, Riley rushed the creature from behind, holding the butt of her rifle high and slamming it down on the back of the Clicker's fungus-layered head. The creature stumbled to the ground and Riley shot it in the head a couple of times. The Clicker lay still, blood oozing out of its skull. She was too terrified to loot the thing's black, tattered hoodie, and listened carefully for any signs of alerted Infected.

Hearing various wails and howls from nearby Runners and Clickers, Riley swore and dashed for the kitchen behind the serving counter. The best she could do was barricade herself in here with a clear view of the door instead of making a run for it just to attract more Infected to her. She hoped that the once-human creatures would lose interest, and turned an old fridge on its side to barricade the door to the kitchen.

Riley backed up against a wall at the end of the longer kitchen, holding her rifle ready in case anything decided to breach her refrigerator barricade. Adrenaline rushed through her veins once more as she heard the screams of Runners, but none could find the source of the gunshots. She observed from her spot on the tiled floor as some walked clear past the café, searching in vain for their victim, only to find nothing. Riley should have guessed the Infected would have trouble finding her. The shots from her rifle may have roused the nasty things, but the sound waves reverberated throughout the street, bouncing off the glass of the skyscrapers around her and making it almost impossible to pinpoint the original location of the noise.

The girl felt like she could finally calm down enough to make a fire, but then realized she had nothing to cook. Hunger made her stomach growl and coming down from her adrenaline high left her feeling exhausted. Despite this and the fading light outside, Riley found it difficult to sleep. She kept hearing the wails of Runners a few blocks down, or Clickers chatting away across the street inside the old skyscraper. _"I sure picked a hell of a spot to make camp for the night…" _Riley thought to herself, feeling like an idiot for deciding to hole up in the most Infected-infested part of town. To avoid attracting attention, she skipped fire-making and tried to scout the kitchen for any food.

Riley found nothing but a can of three-year old peaches in one of the cupboards, the only thing left that bandits hadn't taken. Fortunately the can had a lid one could peel off instead of having to use a can opener. She ate the peaches like they were a delicacy, not the flimsy, tasteless pieces of fruit that barely constituted a meal. The girl threw the can away, glad that at least something had gone right today. It clattered to the ground, but no Infected seemed to be in the area to hear.

The blonde let out a long, shaky breath. The corpse of the Clicker was starting to stink, and Riley was afraid that the smell would attract unwanted Infected visitors. The girl didn't know too much about which senses were amplified at each stage of the Cordyceps fungal infection, save for Clickers and their hearing. She hoped it wasn't smell, too. The last thing she needed was a horde of Runners clambering through the glassless windows and mauling the corpse as well as her. It chilled her to the bone to know that Infected fed on dead bodies, but she wasn't sure if Infected fed on other dead Infected.

Riley watched as the last of the sun's rays ceased reflecting off the windows of the skyscraper across the street, and with the fading light her last bits of hope went as well. The darkness of the night engulfed her, and she wished that it were safe enough to make a fire. With the darkness came the cold, despite it being the middle of summer. Riley shivered, hugging her military jacket tighter around herself. She had never felt so alone, vulnerable, and helpless since her time living with her father. This dank, lightless kitchen was a lot like the dark room her father had locked her in whenever he felt like she needed extra punishment besides regular beatings. The walls felt like they were closing in on her, the darkness pressing against her body like giant hands. They threatened to completely envelope her, never to let her see light again.

The blonde hugged her knees to her chest, resting her forehead on them. She felt hot tears make their way down her cheeks, dripping onto her pants. She was completely alone, with no way of returning to the QZ without getting mauled by Infected. The girl hadn't seen neither hide nor hair of either Jason or Nadia during the day, and assumed that they were probably dead. If she had barely survived with her logic, what chance did Jason have with his impulsiveness and lack of common sense? Just the thought of the pair, alone in the dark together, was enough to make Riley's teeth grind with fury despite her chocked sobs.

A light shined from outside the blonde's eyelids, making them glow orange for a second before returning to darkness. The sudden light made her believe for a moment that she had fallen asleep and the sun had come up, but the flash was too quick and intense to be the sun. The afterimage burned against her retinas and she struck out as someone placed a hand on her shoulder. The resounding grunt of pain caused her to pick her head up, and she took the opportunity to continue beating her attacker senseless.

"I told you she would hurt you, Jason. But no, you decided not to listen. See what happens when you approach a cornered, terrified girl?" Riley recognized the voice of Nadia drawl. Her logically functioning mind interjected long enough to realize that her 'attacker' was indeed her best friend. Riley froze in mid-swing, lowering her arm. Her eyes had adjusted long ago to the darkness, and she could make out Jason smiling up at her. Her fist was still curled around his jacket collar, and their faces were inches apart. Blushing furiously, but glad for the darkness, Riley scrambled off of the dark-haired boy.

Jason sat up, chuckling and coughing. "Hey, Ryebread. Happy to see me?"

This time Riley's anger with the boy boiled over, and she gave him a well-deserved backhand across the face. "You stupid, selfish asshole! What makes you think I'd be happy to see you after you left me to die?!" The girl screeched, seething with fury.

The dark-haired boy recovered from his pounding looking apologetic. He held his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry, I really am. We tried to go back for you, but there were too many snipers. We had to run, but we spent hours looking for you. We only managed to find you because of the Clicker corpse and the sound of your crying. By the way, is Harry around?"

Riley stubbornly wiped the tears from her cheeks, remaining silent. Jason got the message and sighed heavily. "Christine's going to kill me…"

"Not if whoever's waiting back at the QZ for you does it first. Did you even think about how we're going to get back? How about avoiding arrest and detainment, huh? Did you think they'd welcome us back with open arms after assaulting a sniper and escaping from the QZ?" Nadia badgered the boy, now angry with him as well.

Jason hissed, turning on her. "Shut the fuck up, Nadia!" He yelled, holding his head in his hands, visibly shaking in the darkness. Riley had seen him like this before, back at training camp. She was no stranger to these breakdowns.

Nadia huffed, rolling her eyes. She acted as if this wasn't the first time the boy had broken down like this in front of her. "Here we go again…He's had these weird mood swings every so often, it's like he's fucking pregnant. One minute he's happy-go-lucky, the next this." She gestured to the dark-haired boy, who was trembling like a leaf in the wind.

Riley sighed, comfortingly rubbing Jason's back. "Poor baby, you're having withdrawal symptoms again. You'll be okay, don't worry." She reassured the boy soothingly.

Nadia threw up her hands. "Withdrawal symptoms?" She reiterated. "You mean I've been walking around with a goddamn druggie all day? I can't believe this…" She scoffed, crossing her arms. Jason and Nadia may have been flirting during training camp and at the lobby, but that didn't mean she had experience with his symptoms.

"I need a fucking joint…_please_…" Jason whimpered, clutching at his sleeves to stop the involuntary shaking. It didn't help much.

"We don't have one, and plus you're supposed to be quitting the stuff. Did you even go to one of those meetings yet like your dad told you to?" Riley chided the boy, feeling her heart tighten at seeing the usually strong boy this vulnerable.

Jason shook his head, and the blonde clucked in disapproval. "Maybe if you did, you wouldn't be out of it like this. Or you would, but just not as bad. Do you think you can sleep?"

The dark-haired boy picked his head up and nodded. "I'm really tired, but at the same time all I can think of is pot." He replied, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "I'm also wondering why you don't have a fire going. Don't you have a lighter?"

"Of course I do, but I don't want to attract anymore Infected by giving them a reason to check out a bright, crackling red thing in the middle of the night. I guess we'll just have to huddle up and stay warm." Riley explained, and the blush returned to her cheeks. She wished she didn't have such light skin that showed the red on her face so well.

"Good point. You did pick the worst place to make camp, after all. I'll take first watch; I've had enough of dealing with Dr. Jekyll over here." Nadia pointed out, giving Riley a fake smile. She pulled out a blanket from her pack and threw it to the girl. Riley caught it and spread it out in front of her like a portable mattress. She wasn't sure who Dr. Jekyll was, but it didn't sound like a compliment. She lay down on the blanket and Jason did the same, lying on his back.

"I am such a fucking idiot. And you're colder than an icicle." Jason observed after a minute of silence, as he noticed the blonde beside him shivering. She hadn't realized it was that obvious.

"Yes, you're probably the stupidest person I've ever met. I know I'm cold, but I don't need you to be all gentlemanly and warm me up. You're too preoccupied flirting with Nadia and dealing with the drug-addicted demons in your head." The blonde sarcastically shot back, turning on her side to face away from Jason.

Another minute of silence passed, and the dark-haired boy furrowed his brow. "You know, you've been real bitchy lately, Riley. I know you're pissed off at me for leaving you like I did, but I already apologized for it. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I don't like being around people with bad attitudes. Something's bugging you I want to know what it is." He propped himself up on his elbow, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. She shrugged it off, and he quietly sighed.

Riley couldn't tell the boy what was wrong because of a few reasons. One was Nadia was in the room, another was the fact that she wasn't quite sure herself why she was acting like this, and the third was that if she tried to explain it, Jason would probably laugh in her face. "I…I can't." The blonde muttered finally.

"Well, if you can't tell me, then at least let me keep you from getting hypothermia. Can I put an arm around you?" There was a quiet authority in Jason's voice that was at once reassuring and hard to say no to. Riley sighed in defeat, reluctantly turning over to face the boy. He awkwardly wrapped an arm around her, bending his free arm for her to use as a pillow.

Riley could practically hear the blood rushing to Jason's cheeks as she rested her head in the crook made by his elbow and her hands against his chest. The fabric of his military jacket was rough but warm against her fingers, and she smiled a little as she felt his rapid pulse at the base of his exposed neck. His breath hitched at the contact, and she couldn't help but let out a light giggle.

"What's so funny?" Jason questioned, his voice soft against her ear.

The blonde's smile widened, but not enough for him to notice. To divert his attention she queried, "Why'd you call me Ryebread?"

Jason thought for a moment. "You're such a slow runner, I was sure you'd be food for Infected by now." He answered, surprised his wit hadn't been affected by either his withdrawal symptoms or the current, slightly uncomfortable situation.

"You have such little faith in me. Please, continue underestimating my ability to handle myself." The girl said dryly, shifting closer to the boy just to make him more uncomfortable. Jason's breath hitched in his throat again, and she knew it worked.

"I see you've been using my soap. I never knew how nice lavender smelled on other people. The dried Clicker blood kind of sets it off, though." Jason commented, earning another light whack on the shoulder from Riley.

Despite her irritation, the girl couldn't help but giggle. "Shut up, you tease. Go to sleep, I thought you said you were tired?" She yawned, closing her eyes.

"Whatever…Goodnight, Riley." Jason murmured, resting his chin on the top of her head. Despite her complaints, he felt the girl relax and settle herself against him. He noticed she had stopped shivering, and then sleep overtook his exhausted body and mind.


End file.
